A New Thing
Lee Watson (England, United Kingdom)

The Lord says, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” - Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)




Recently, I read Isaiah 43:19 again and was surprised that God had to ask the Israelites, “Do you not perceive it?” How can God be doing a new thing and it not be perceived? Having worked as a gardener for several years, images of gardens that were overgrown and left unattended came to mind. If a garden is neglected, the grass grows too high; nettles, thistles, and other weeds take over where flowers once thrived; trees are never pruned, taking up too much space. A new flowering plant would be difficult to see in such a garden!

Similarly, when our lives are overgrown with relationship troubles, money worries, ill health, and other problems, it can be difficult to see the new thing God is doing. Sometimes we need help to see that God is indeed at work in our lives. Jesus describes God as a gardener in John 15:1-2. Sometimes we need God to trim our excessive spending and sort out thorny financial problems, to dig out the roots of our bad habits and prune our tendency to talk unfairly about others. When we focus on Jesus, we can more clearly see the work that God is doing in our lives.



TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for caring for us. Help us to see the new thing you are doing in our lives. Amen.


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TODAY'S READING
Psalm 104:14-23


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God is at work in my life.


PRAYER FOCUS
Someone overwhelmed by problems