Topic: Disruptive Moments – Daily Devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries 23 March 2020

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“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)

Standing in line, I tried to hold back tears, waiting for my turn to use the pay phone.

In an age before smartphones, I was a college student experiencing a very disruptive moment: my first time away from home! Standing in the hallway of my dormitory, I felt lonely, and my heart ached for the comfort of the past.

I envisioned my hometown with rose-colored glasses. There I was known! There I had friends! The past seemed so glorious, yet transitions in life are inevitable. I could not have stayed in high school forever. We must move on to grow.

Later that day, I read today’s key verses in my dorm room, and the words gave me hope:

“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

These words gave me hope years ago, and they still give me hope today.

The prophet Isaiah is reminding the Israelites that God will not only deliver them out of captivity in Babylon, but He will also provide for their needs and bring them safely to their own land. God had already brought His people through the Red Sea centuries earlier. Isaiah 43:16 says, “Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters” (NKJV).

I faced a desert season of barrenness when I experienced that disruptive moment of going away to college, apart from my family for the first time. But the same God who got me through my teen heartbreaks would get me through my freshman year (and He did).

Maybe you’re facing a disruptive moment today: a threatening, tumultuous storm or a desert season of dryness. Wherever you are on life’s journey, God can see you through and make all things new.

In the natural world, everything decays. Things break down. If you leave a banana peel outside, it won’t turn into a brand-new banana or a brand-new anything. It will decay and decompose. That’s the way of the world.

But that is not the way of God’s Kingdom, the spiritual world. He takes the old and makes it new! Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV) God can take our old mistakes and heartaches and turn them into something beautiful.

There are many disruptive moments in life. The coronavirus. The loss of a job, spouse, or parent. A move across the country. The birth of a baby. The graduation of your youngest. An unwanted diagnosis.

In this moment of tension, remember God is doing a new thing. Lean into the power of hope in your moment of transition. The new way God is making will not be inferior to the old way. No, instead God promises to do even greater things for us today than He has done in the past. Don’t be caught by surprise — as Isaiah 43:19 says, “Shall you not know it?” Anticipate God’s provision and the newness of the coming season, and you will not be disappointed.

Don’t let the wilderness intimidate you. With every step over rough terrain, God will make a way. This is the place where miracles can happen. Divine direction and divine comfort await you.

Dear Jesus, thank You for making a way. You turn the wilderness into a bearable place, leading and providing for me along the way. You really do make all things new. I am confident You will show me the path of life and how to walk through my circumstances in victory. You are worthy of all praise. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Isaiah 43:20-21, “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” (NIV)

Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (NIV)