GOD IS AT WORK

There are certain chapters in the Bible that provide an instant source of strength and encouragement. For me Isaiah 43 is one of those, especially when facing challenging circumstances. In my humble opinion, the words of the Lord “you are mine” (V1) and “I will be with you” are right at the top. The promise of God’s presence is a hugely calming comfort when life is dealing a shot of ugliness. I encourage you to read Isaiah 43 and draw strength and hope from the word of the Lord.

In today’s blog post I want to focus for a few minutes on verse 19: “For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert!” (NLT) There are a couple of things in this verse that could easily be missed: First, the Lord declares: “I have already begun.” To state the obvious, which is not always so obvious: God is at work in the invisible before what He’s doing is made visible. Just because you and I don’t see evidence of His hand at work in our lives it doesn’t mean He’s not doing things behind the veil of the visible. As you’ve probably noticed life can get pretty involved and detailed. When God is up to something in our lives He is arranging things so they align with His purposes and plans. This is rarely a one-step process; it’s many steps, involving many people, places and things. We should never assume God is ignoring our cries for help and turning His back on our desperation. He has “already begun” to cause “everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)

The second thing I see in verse 19 is the question: “Do you not see it?” To me this raises the strong possibility that you and I are often unaware of what God is up to in our lives, especially in the early stages of Him doing “a brand-new thing.” Even though it feels more like winter today (sorry for whining), spring is coming alive in nature. By the time a flower blooms it has gone through multiple stages that have been entirely invisible to the eye. These stages are absolutely necessary for the flower to get to the point where it can blossom. In the genius of our Creator He’s designed these stages to occur with predictability and purpose, each stage and step leading to the next and ultimately resulting in a colorful display of His amazing creativity. The point is, we don’t doubt spring will eventually displace winter but we do sometimes doubt whether God is working for our good. As Jesus taught in Matthew 6:28 the God who tends the lilies of the field cares even more for you and I.

I conclude with this final thought. There’s a strong possibility you never once doubted whether the trees and flowers, which have been dormant all winter, would blossom this spring. You’ve come to expect that nature, with predictability and dependability, will once again be arrayed in a display of beautiful color. The same Creator who established the seasons (Psalm 104:19) is the same God who is working in your life today. You can be confident He is working, and what He’s doing behind the veil of the visible will soon be displayed for you and everyone else to see. Oh, yeah, and it’s going to be good because He is good.