Saturday, December 31, 2016

Expect the New

UV 2161/10000 Expect the New
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43 v 19

The Lord who is the Creator of all things and all creatures is able to renew our lives. He gives us a fresh start each day with each sunrise and the rising of Jesus in our hearts as the Sun of Righteousness. He is able to bring forth hope in our hearts even in absolutely hopeless situations. The “desert” metaphor stands for this kind of barrenness in our lives for not a blade of grass could grow in the extreme climate of the Egyptian desert through which the nation of Israel was led. It could not grow as there was not a drop of water. Yet the Lord in His mercy made rivers of water available to soothe the parched throats of the Israelites. Once He frees us from the slavery to sin, death and satan, the Lord blesses our provisions – our stores of food and water.

There was also no clear pathway in the desert sand but the Lord went ahead of the people of Israel as a dense cloud by day and a fire by night. Similarly, the cloud of His presence leads us even today. He communicates to us out of the cloud- I call this cloud communication as opposed to cloud computing. He lights a fire of faith in our hearts and minds so that we believe in Him, in ourselves, our dreams and hopes for a better life than before. In the contemporary darkness and madness of violence and greed in this world, the Lord acts as the light to guide us step by step, moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month and year to year. The things the Lord does to us and for us is hidden and secret. But He brings forth the hidden treasures meant for us out of darkness. The hidden treasure may not be gold or jewels but a new word the Lord speaks to us in our hour of dire need.

Life in this world is like travelling through wilderness. Every day looks similar like every tree in the woods. There are no red flags to highlight risky paths, no markers to help us navigate in the direction we ought to go. There are a lot of red herrings thrown in by the enemy of our souls to divert us, to distract us, to make us take a detour that leads us off the path and direction we should be taking in life. But the Lord creates a clear highway for the manger leader or manager to take. There is no shelter on the way but the Lord Himself becomes the rock shelter in the “dry and weary land.” The Lord will bring forth fresh spring water of blessings from the rock to refresh and renew us. Just as a spring never dries up unlike a river, the Lord remains our eternal spring. When is the time the Lord will do these “new” things in and for us: today and now as stated in the uni-verse. So we need to look forward with hope, expectation and faith to every present moment. He knows the end from the beginning and He wants to give us the expected end.

Prateep V Philip
*Wish all faithful readers a Blessed New Year 2017 in which you will experience in truth and reality all the above.

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