The Dawn of a New Decade God Has Just Begun

Isaiah 43: 18-19 "But forget all that--it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (NLT)

As we edge closer to a new year and a new decade it is customary to want to look back. Take a long look at 2009 and the past ten years. Ponder the chasm which God has helped you cross. The troubles He has delivered you from. The strength He has developed in you. Take a serious moment and prayerfully consider all that has come and gone in the past ten years. I was saved this decade. I came to God and was reborn in late 2002. God did quite a lot in this decade for me; in spite of me often. I cannot think of the past decade without becoming overwhelmed by the goodness of God. Was everything perfect? Hardly. Were there disappointments, struggles and failures? Absolutely. Amidst the peaks and mountaintops there are always the wilderness and wasteland. You cannot truly appreciate one without the other. But as creatures that tend to live only in the moment, to really take a look at a ten year snapshot at the awesomeness of Almighty God should be overwhelming.

In Isaiah 43 we see the Lord recounting some of the great works He had done for Israel. He recounts that He was their Creator and King (verse 15). He then reflects upon one of the greatest acts of deliverance ever recorded in history (verses 16-17). God reminds them of the parting of the Red Sea. Imagine the scene beloved. The armies of Pharaoh are in hot pursuit of the escaping Israelites. Their chariots are almost catching up to them. If caught, certain doom is in store for Israel. Then God:

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. Exodus 14: 21-22

The movie recreations cannot do justice to the awesome sight this must have been for the nation of Israel. A roaring sea divided and standing to each side of them. Walls of water to the left and the right as they walked through on solid ground. And then when they had all successfully and safely gained passage to the other side, God collapses the walls of water upon the enemies of Israel, wiping them out forever! That is how God delivers still to this day! He will make a way where there seemingly is no way. With our enemies closely behind us, all will seem lost until we call on the name of the Lord. Then the impossible will deliver us and our enemies will be wiped out forever!

What a memory for God to be recalling through the Prophet Isaiah to His people. Yet look at what God says next in our key verses above. Forget about what I have already done; wait until you see what I am going to do! And as we leave this year and this decade and wistfully consider all God has done, realize that this promise from God in Isaiah is for us today as well. Considering all He has done for me these past ten years, it is staggering to think that the next ten years will be so dramatically more glorious!

Working backwards in the key verses, God promises to create rivers in a dry wasteland. In looking up the meaning of wasteland, I came across this interesting definition:

Something, as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality, that is spiritually or intellectually barren.

Let's face it folks. Sometimes we can experience that spiritually barren phase of existence. The Christian walk is just that; a walk. It is not a sprint but a marathon. Like all marathon runners, we can grow weary. We can be in need of refreshing. The Book of Hebrews reminds us:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1-3

God has a race marked out for you beloved. He knows that we can easily grow weary and lose heart if we take our eyes off of the author and perfecter of our faith. The world will throw one distraction after another at you. The world wants your focus off of Jesus. That is how we lose heart. That is how we grow weary in the marathon. That is how we can enter into a time of spiritual barrenness. But God is saying here in the key verses, that he will create rivers in the wasteland that we might find ourselves in. Note that He does not say he will lead us to the rivers, but rather that He will create them. This implies that even in places where the refreshing we need does not exist, God will supernaturally step in and refresh us! When the Israelites needed food; God rained down manna from heaven. When they needed water, God made it spring forth from a rock. When you need the river of God's refreshing in your spiritually dry place; He will simply create the rivers you need!

Continuing in the key verses, we also see God assures us that He will make a pathway through the wilderness. Not only can we experience a time of spiritual barrenness but we also can simply lose our way in our walk. We can get lost. Maybe we get a medical report and lose sight of the Healer we have in God. Maybe we face financial difficulties and lose sight of the provider we have in God. Maybe we face relationship problems and lose sight of Jehovah Shalom; our peace. We start to rely upon our own strength or listen to the lies of the enemy or the schemes of the world. The Psalmist reminds us:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

In whatever trouble we find ourselves, God is our ever-present help. No matter how dense the wilderness may seem; how lost we may find ourselves God never leaves. What is the secret for when we find the paths before us leading us away from God?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

It is a process where we start to trust less in God and more on what we see or feel that can lead us astray. We can start to wander into the wilderness when we start to lean on our own understanding. When Peter stepped out of the boat he was able to walk on water because he trusted in the Lord with all of his heart. But once he leaned on his own understanding of how frightening the waves and the storm were around him he began to sink and despair. That is how we can be as well. We take our eyes off of God and onto our circumstances the strategy of the world and we begin to sink into our wilderness. Eventually, we can find ourselves lost. Not lost in terms of our salvation but rather, in the depth of our faith. But when we acknowledge God, He will make the paths before us straight. He will make that pathway through the wilderness for us. That pathway will always lead right back to Him.

Continuing in the key verses, the promise from Almighty God to us today is that He is about to do something new in our lives! God is not a stagnant God. He does not wish to see us stagnant either. The Christian walk is not supposed to grow stale. Yet how many people often find themselves feeling stuck in the spiritual mud? God always has a new level for us to mature to. He always has a higher purpose to achieve. But we have to want to pursue it. We have to seek it out. Look at the life of the Apostle Paul. He was always seeking the next level in Christ that God had for him. No matter how many times he found himself literally shipwrecked or spiritually downcast; his focus was always on what God had for him to do next. He could have stopped after the first missionary journey and been satisfied within himself for the job he had done. He could have stagnated after the second missionary journey and said that he had done enough. Even after the third missionary journey and his imprisonment in Rome; Paul still wasn't done and wrote his epistles, which became part of the canon of Scripture we rely upon to this day. God always had another level for Paul and Paul was always seeking it. Perhaps that is why when he knew his time on earth was coming to a close, he had such peace:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2Timothy 4: 6-8

God has a race for us as well beloved. He understands that we might get weary but has promised rivers in the wasteland to revive us. He understands that we might get lost along the way but has promised pathways in our wilderness to bring us back to Him. As we close out another decade look! He is about to do a new thing in you if you would just let Him!

Not only will He do a new thing in you beloved He has already begun! God's work in us is perpetual. It is ongoing. It does not stop. The path is there before us. The way has been made. The river has been created. Look at what God is saying to us as we enter into a new decade on this earth do you not see it? Can you not see the next level God is drawing you to? Can you not see Him moving in your life? Can you not see the doors being opened for you? Can you not see the plan unfolding all around you? The life of Joseph shows us someone who always saw the plan of God unfolding around him. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers when he was only 17, yet still prospered in Potiphar's house. After being falsely accused and thrown in jail, Joseph still prospered in the prison. Even after being forgotten by the cupbearer, costing him another two years in prison; Joseph still refused to give in to his circumstances. He still saw God constantly doing a new thing in him. We read the word prospered and somehow gloss over the fact that Joseph was still a slave in Potiphar's house! He was still a prison! These were not glorious days for Joseph and let us not forget that his wilderness lasted 13 years! After being released from prison and ascending to the second most powerful position in the world Joseph never sought retribution upon anyone who wronged him. Why? Surely he must have gone through the range of human emotions? Because he always saw everything in terms of what level God was trying to take him to. His brothers, riddled with guilt even after being forgiven, are reassured by Joseph at the end of Genesis and through the reassurance; we see Joseph understood that God was always doing a new thing in him:

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50: 19-21

And that brings us full circle in the key verses. God is saying that as we look back on all He has done in our lives we need to temper our astonishment with the unbelievable reality that it will pale in comparison to the new thing He has already begun in us today! Those victories God gave you over the past ten years will be surpassed by the victories He has for you and is already working in you! Do you not see it?

God will show you the pathway through the wilderness. He will create the river you need to sustain yourself in the weary wasteland. The world and the enemy will try to get your focus off of God and onto your circumstances. As long as you are not focused on God you cannot walk on the water. As long as you are not focused on God you will not see it. Thank God for the past ten years and how far He has brought you but thank Him even more for the ten years ahead and next level He has for you in Christ Jesus. Oh beloved, see it today!

Reverend Anthony Wade December 30, 2009 Happy New Year!