Isaiah 43:16-21 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 43:16-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 16Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, Verse 17who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Verse 18Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. Verse 19I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Verse 20The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, Verse 21the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.
Devotion
“Be prepared to be surprised” is one way to summarize today’s text from Isaiah. It conveys God’s promise to deliver Israel from its Babylonian captivity, which finds precedent in God’s previous action of freeing God’s people from bondage in Egypt. Clearly, God has a good track record of rescuing people from oppression and granting them new life. Yet, while we can trust that God’s loving character never changes, we should not expect God to always act in the same way. “Do not remember the former things…I am about to do a new thing,” declares the Lord (43:18–19). God is faithful to fulfill God’s promises. And God continually brings new life out of various types of death. But God does so in ways we cannot imagine or control. In this scary and exciting place, we are called to trust in the God who claims us as God’s own.
Prayer
Merciful God, help us to trust you when we cannot let go of the past and cannot see a way forward. We pray in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, whom you raised from the dead. Amen.
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