BRAND NEW

brand-new (adj): conspicuously new, recently introduced, original, fresh 

“Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.” Isaiah 43:19

Brand-new.

There’s a certain excitement that rises when we experience something that no one has used, held, or even seen before. A new car, a new phone, even a brand-new pair of shoes…fun at first for sure. But most of these things become ordinary rather quickly, and the thrill of new fades awfully fast.

Brand-new God things, though, do last forever. The things he gives us, shows us, and does for us bring unexpected growth, joyful freedom, and healing for our troubled hearts.

I love that God still works in unanticipated, never-seen-before, brand-new ways.

Here in Isaiah he was reminding his people to trust him. They were in another difficult place, doubting and grumbling, I’m sure. Recently freed from captivity and slavery, they were still in exile and struggling to find their way. Miles and miles of parched desert wasteland stretched ahead of them, with water nowhere to be found.

And he was assuring them that he had a plan.

He was bursting with the newness, the surprise, the faithfulness he wanted to show to his children. It would be another one of his many brand-new things. Never seen before. Something that would save their lives and reveal his creative power and love.

Over and over, God gave these to his people. New ideas. Surprising answers. Unexpected ways.

And the best one was Jesus.  

No one expected him to come to us as a baby. And none of us could possibly understand his plan to die a criminal’s death to pay the price for our sins against him. And surely no one would have ever imagined that Jesus would really come back to life three days later–crushing the power of death and giving us the promise of life forever with him.

No more tears. No more stress. No more sickness. No more grief. No more sleepless nights, hurtful words, or lonely hours.

Everything brand-new. Even us.

The good news right now is that he continues to do brand-new things. He has more than enough creativity, power, grace, and wisdom to do whatever we need in our lives today.

And these brand-new things God is going to do?

They might be big, they might be small. They might happen right-away, they might take longer than we hoped. They might turn out exactly the way we dream they will, or they might be a total surprise. Our God promises that we can count on him for brand-new answers, brand-new hope, brand-new lives.

The gift of Jesus assures us that our faithful God will never leave our side. No matter what wilderness or desert or deep water we are struggling in, we can count on him to take us through.

Invite Him in: Hold tight to Jesus. Trust his faithfulness no matter what you are feeling. When you feel scared or discouraged or even guilty, picture him right by your side–going with you and ahead of you. “Be alert, be present”, and you will see him make a brand-new way.