A new thing...

          Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it           springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
 
          Last week we looked at the fact that the new thing that God wants to do in our lives has to begin with us, with our effort to shift our focus from the old, sometimes negative things of the past as we choose to look forward to the new thing God has in store for us. It’s not easy, especially when you are accustomed to focusing on what’s behind but if we want to experience the new thing God has for us, we have to make a conscious effort.
         Thankfully, after our focus is adjusted, we can rest in the fact that God is going to do it. We can be pretty dependent as human beings. We love to be able to have a say in what happens to us and that is totally normal. Yet, sometimes we just have to hand over the reins to God and let Him do His perfect work. It won’t be perfect if we interfere, if we have a say in how it is done, when it is done or who will be used to make it happen. God has our business, which by the way is His business, all worked out. 
          Here’s the challenge though – He said He will “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” He never said that He would take us out of the wilderness but make a way for us to bear it. He never said He would take us out of the desert either but that He would make rivers there to refresh us and sustain us as we go through. Yes, sometimes the “new thing” doesn’t always look too new. Sometimes, the greater victory is not removing the problem but enabling us to bear it and to still thrive and to still succeed in spite of it. It does take “new” eyes to see the miracles God is doing in our desert seasons. It takes a grateful heart to choose to be thankful as we walk through and sometimes crawl through those wilderness experiences. Sometimes, the new thing is “us” and what God is doing in us in the midst of our situation.
          Years ago, when I first started teaching, the experience was a very challenging one for me. I am a naturally shy, introvert, not always comfortable with crowds or worse yet standing in front of a crowd to speak. So, you can imagine teaching was something that I wanted to run from, but I knew in my heart of hearts that that was exactly where God wanted me to be. I struggled for a long time to be able to practice good classroom management skills and in short did not enjoy my experience as a teacher. Yet, I plodded on and gradually learned to turn it over to God. After some time, I realized something interesting. My classes were still difficult to manage – that had not quite changed – but there was a change taking place in me. I actually started to enjoy my job and I realized that I was the one who had changed. I guess you can say that God had made a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert for me. He didn’t take me out of teaching and put me in a new profession, He simply changed my heart, my attitude, my focus. As I let go of my negative experiences and put my focus more and more on my God, although the challenges did not necessarily go away, I was the one that was experiencing a new thing, a new attitude, a new perception of things. Today, I find myself enjoying being with my students no matter how challenging behaviors may be at times. I have learned, as much as possible, to start each class with a fresh slate as if any negatives of the class before never even happened. Yes, God has certainly done and is still doing a new thing in me.
           What does your desert experience look like? Maybe the new thing God is going to do is to transform you into a new you. He knows how to use those challenging, painful things in our lives to transform us into something beautiful and precious. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing is wasted by God. He will use both the good and the bad to do new things in us. And when the time is right, He will bring you out of the desert. He will remove that problem as if it never even existed. It. Will. Not. Last. Forever. Trust the process. Trust God. He will make all things new.
          If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life, invite Him in now and watch and allow Him to transform you into a “you” that you can be proud of.