New Every Morning

Isaiah 43:19  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Do you remember that special feeling when at school you started a new exercise book  and how you took care not to make a mistake.  How long did it last, before there was some crossing out, some mis-spelling or some smudge that marred the page? Yet there is something different in the new thing that God does within his creation.

The hymn writer captured it in the words, “New every morning is the love our wakening and uprising prove”.

The Christian life is one of renewal. God is all about moving forwards, upwards, and making things better. After all, that’s why He sent Jesus – so that we could have a renewed life. No matter what has happened in your life – a tragedy in your childhood, or just a clumsy mistake yesterday – God says that you can begin again.

But how can I be made new? What about my past? Philip Brooks assures us that  “the only way to get rid of your past is to make a future out of it. God will waste nothing.”

How important it is for us to remain sensitive and open! There are insights to be discovered which the Spirit of God quietly whispers. There are solutions to be applied, profound lessons to be learned, unexpected scenes to be enjoyed, surprising discoveries to be made. The hurried and irritable soul will miss them. Scripture is full of such individuals. Several come to mind:

Ageing Moses, after forty years of tending sheep, stopped to see why the bush refused to burn up (Exodus 3). The "serendipity" of an exodus was just around the corner, much to his surprise.

Troubled Jacob, like many of us today, finally confessed, "The LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it!" (Genesis 28:16). Result? A personal transformation.

Legalistic Peter, determined not to eat anything "unclean," had an enormous sheet of non-kosher creatures spread before him and was commanded by the Lord to "kill and eat" (Acts 11:5–8). That "serendipity" prepared him for a new ministry to reach the Gentiles.

Isaiah's words make me smile every time I read them because I have seen the truth they represent come to pass time and again. God the Father, Son, and Spirit—the Godhead of heaven—still stand behind this promise:

Gracious God,
Thank you for the gift of today.
Refresh me. Invite me to discover your presence
In each person that I meet
And every event that I encounter.
Teach me when to speak and when to listen
When to ponder and when to share.
In moments of challenge and decision
Attune my heart to the whisperings of your Wisdom.
As I undertake ordinary and unnoticed tasks,
Gift me with simple joy.
When my day goes well, may I rejoice.
When it grows difficult, surprise me with
New possibilities.
When life is overwhelming, call me to
Sabbath moments
To restore your Peace and Harmony.
May my living today reveal your Goodness. Amen