A New Thing
“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth…” (Isaiah 43:19)
Today happens to be New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Eve is it customary for many of us to ponder new beginnings.
Why? Because the holiday has the word “new” in its name.
I was sitting and thinking about that word and was led to the verse above.
That passage in Isaiah 43 has to do with the Father’s excitement that when the time was right, He would send Jesus.
No longer would His people be at the mercy of the unscrupulous and neglectful spiritual leaders of that day.
No longer would they be without hope.
No longer would they live in a spiritual system in which they could only have an encounter with God when the building was open for business or on special days.
Brothers and sisters, God’s “new (fresh) thing” has to do with our being CONSTANTLY fed BY GOD. He does this directly through the Holy Spirit Who lives in the human spirits of Christians and through other people and the things and creatures of the earth as HE chooses.
We’re not like barn animals meant to stand staring at an empty trough waiting for someone to throw some food in there.
Our Shepherd is God and He is ALWAYS feeding our spirits and souls.
“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 34:11-15)
The “new thing” God excitedly announced has been happening in Christians, moment by moment, for almost 2000 years now. God promised, through the Apostle Paul, that He would complete in us what HE began in us the moment we were saved.
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 1:3-6)
So, as we sit here…pondering a NEW YEAR, perhaps we can recognize and praise God for His constant supply….and commit on this man-made holiday to consuming moment by moment what God supplies to us….for the rest of our time on the earth.
As we gather in special meetings as the Body of Christ in all the various forms that happens (large meetings in buildings as well as intimate discipleship and pastoral meetings), let’s pay attention.
Let’s enjoy how what our leaders teach us supplements and dovetails with what God is teaching us personally through prayer, quiet time, Bible study and our interaction with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we “have church” in restaurants, the workplace, vehicles, hospital waiting rooms, living rooms and dining rooms.
May the Lord detox us from the false belief that we can only be fed spiritually when Man schedules the meal.
May we come to anticipate each day upon wakening that the God of the Universe will be with us, teaching and feeding us.
May what we consume from HIM power the good works that HE has prepared for us to do.
May we worship God by supping with Him – constantly – wherever we are.
Happy New Year!
Pastor Mike McInerney
Mike McInerney Ministries,Inc.
Decatur, TX
© December 31, 2017
For use with permission