A New Thing

Happy New Year! Are you wondering, like I am, how we got to the new year already? Weren’t we just ringing in 2025?

This passage struck me as one we need to pay attention to as we move into a new year. Maybe we even need to pay attention each new day.

How often do we hold on to the “old stuff” or “baggage” from our past as we move into the future. I think sometimes we have a tendency to hold on harder to the “bad” stuff than we do the “good” stuff. But God is clear hear about forgetting the past and moving into the future. A new thing that God is doing. How hard is that?

My 2025 was a mixed bag of highs and lows. I suspect that is true for everyone. And our perceptions about the future are colored by the experiences of the past. When God asks us to step out and do a new thing, we become fearful or anxious. I don’t think we usually jump for joy when God wants to take us out of our comfort zone to a new thing. At least that is true for me. 😊 

But God is clear here that we need to trust Him. He is doing a new thing. It’s not just happening; it is springing forth. When I hear that phrase, I picture pronghorn antelope moving across the grasslands of Yellowstone, jumping and springing along at a pretty fast pace. How many of us are so obedient to the new things God brings to us in our lives?

Some of us may be coming out of some truly wilderness experiences in 2025. Experiences that have left us parched and lost and hungry. We may even feel alone and wonder where God is in the midst of all the heartache and hurt and confusion.

But to that, God says, “pay attention.” I’m doing something new and I want you to experience that firsthand. If you feel lost or alone or hungry or thirsty, please know that I’m not going to leave you alone.

He tells us just the opposite. He tells us that He is going to make a way in that wilderness. A way for us to follow as He leads us through life. He tells us that He is going to make streams in the desert. If you live in the desert, you know that when it rains and streams flow through the desert, it is beautiful. It brings new life. The desert becomes green and blooms with color after the winter rains. 

That is the picture I have of this passage. Paths and streams that lead us on the way God wants us to go. Paths and streams that will lead us to something beautiful. But to move forward, we need to leave the past behind.

We need to trust that God, in His infinite wisdom, will provide the way and the living water that we need to live into His “new thing.”

I pray that we will all perceive that new thing that is springing forth for each of us. I pray that we will live into all that God calls us to in 2026 and beyond. I pray that we will relish in all that He wants us to be and do and that we can do that without bondage to the past.

Blessings and Love, 😊 Ceri