Speaking to the Israelites in this passage, God encourages them to look forward and focus on His promises of being their Redeemer. And I’m sure He said these things because His people were tempted to give into the fears, unbelief, and past hardships, which were weighing over them throughout this journey towards their promised redemption. How fitting for us as we enter into a new year, especially with how trying 2020 was.

In the last few weeks of reflecting over 2020 and the years before, I have personally met this same tension of “do I look forward and only forward?” and “how can I trust You, God, without looking backwards?” Think about it. If we only look forward, that creates a sense of “blind faith;” and then if we only look backwards, we meet a whirlwind of emotions that can lead one to possibly fall away. So, let us add in verses 16-17, where God reminds His people of some of His faithful acts that saved them in the past. I think this is the healthy balance between those two questions. God gave us a brain with the ability to remember things, but it’s the battle within us to recall and reflect on the necessary memories--the memories of faithfulness that build perseverance and hope deep within our bones. This is how we perceive that He is doing a new thing, which to us NT believers, is the Gospel transforming our lives and the lives of those around us, holding us up until the Day of the Lord.

When we are able to perceive this in a healthy manner, it allows for us to trust Him all the more when He tells us that He will form a path in the undeveloped wilderness and that He will provide rivers to the droughted desert. When God says He will do something, it’s in our best interest to rest in that promise and not take matters into our own hands. Just look at how these promises from His mouth in Isaiah 43 became true for the Israelites.

As daunting as it may be to look ahead, join me this morning--early on in the new year--in perceiving and resting in God’s faithfulness. Thankfully, we know how this story ends. Praise King Jesus.

Isaiah 43.18-19

18 “Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

19 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.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Who is told to not dwell on the things of the past? And Who is doing the new thing? Why are these two roles so important?

+ God calls Himself Israel’s Redeemer. What does the word redeem/redeemer mean to you? Does it change after reading the following from GotQuestions:

“The word redeem means “to buy out.” The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s freedom.”

+ Think of the similarities and differences of the idea of redemption/redeem from OT to NT.

+ Who/What helps us enter this redemption, or this “new thing” that God asks us to perceive? [Hint: one of the persons of the Trinity]

+ What is the New Testament “hope” and “promise” that we hold tightly to?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ The 43rd chapter of Isaiah has a common title of “Israel’s Only Savior.” Is this a fitting title for God in my own life?

+ Look over the past years, months, or even days, and list out some ways God has been faithful to myself, my family, and the lives around me. Can I see the Gospel taking it’s course in transforming every aspect of these lives listed? Give Him thanks in this moment.

+ How can my “looking backwards” help me “look forward”?

+ Can I pray now for any specific path to be made in the wilderness, or any river to flow in the desert? Can I ask anyone in my life to join me in prayer?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Who can I run alongside in this season to share the faithfulness of the Lord?

+ Can I help someone perceive the new thing God offers to all people in the New Covenant?