Daily Devotional · Isaiah 43:18–19
See, I Am Doing a New Thing
Reflection
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43 opens with one of the most comforting declarations in the Old Testament: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine" (v. 1). Then the astonishing claim: when you walk through fire, you will not be burned; when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. And then this command: forget the former things. Israel's entire identity was built on the former things — the exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud and fire. These were the foundation of their confidence in God. And God says: don't look backward at those. Not because they weren't real. Not because they weren't significant. But because what God is about to do is even greater. The new thing is already springing up; the question is whether you have eyes to perceive it. "I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." The wilderness is real. The wasteland is real. But a way is being made through it, and streams are appearing where there was only dry ground. The provision is not around the difficulty — it is in the middle of it. The New Testament applies this passage to the resurrection of Christ and the new creation: the new exodus, greater than the first, leading not just out of Egypt but out of death itself.
Background
Isaiah 43:18–19 is one of the key texts behind the New Testament's theology of new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ("if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come") and Revelation 21:5 ("I am making everything new") both draw on this Isaianic tradition. The command to "forget the former things" is not a command to ignore history — it is a command to open your eyes to what God is currently doing, which exceeds even what He did before.
Truth
The new thing God is doing in your life right now is not a repeat of the former thing — it is greater. But it requires perception: "Do you not perceive it?" The way in the wilderness is already being formed. The streams in the wasteland are already flowing. The question is whether you are looking.
Application
What former thing — a past season of blessing, a previous relationship, a version of yourself that is gone — are you dwelling on at the expense of perceiving what God is doing now? Ask God specifically: what is the new thing you are doing in my life right now? Then open your eyes and look for the stream in the wasteland.