Streams of Mercy

The thought of something new is always exciting – a new baby, a new job, a new car, a new house. We enjoy meeting new people and going to new places, eating new foods and learning new things. We all need a taste of something new from time to time to encourage us, especially after these last two years of dealing with the pandemic and all the changes that came as we made our way through to this very day.

“Behold, I make all things new,” says the Lord. The phrase is found throughout the Bible, and it is God’s word to all of us on our journeys of life and faith. The Lord says I will make a “new covenant” with you, I will place in you a “new heart”, I will give you a ”new spirit”, I will give you a “new name”, and you will sing a “new song”. The Apostle Paul writes: “When anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.” God is always at work doing new things, even when we cannot see it.

In the context of the exile, Isaiah invites the people to see something new springing forth. For decades they have lived in captivity, away from their homeland; the temple is destroyed, the king is held captive, and their families are scattered. They are told by God, “Remember not the things of old. Behold I am doing a new thing!”

What new things might God create in us and through us, if we were to put our past behind us, say a prayer over it and release it to God? The God who says, “I am doing a new thing” is speaking to the Hebrew people then and there, and also to all of God’s people here and now.

“Don’t brood over past history. Don’t brood over the mistakes of the years gone by. I the Lord God am doing a new thing in your life. Can’t you see it? (Isaiah 43:18-19, New English Bible) In these final days of our Lenten journey, may we have eyes of faith to see the new thing God is doing in our lives and in all of life. May God give us grace to turn from the past and move forward in the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ.

Elizabeth