"Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19 (NASB)
The words of this verse were brought to my attention via the melody of a song written decades ago by an artist named Phil Keaggy. I have a lot of his old CDs, which were purchased to replace the LPs and cassettes that had worn out from excessive use. I had pretty much forgotten about these CDs because I hadn't played them for a very long time, as in decades. Probably three of them.
I was a bit surprised when this song entered my head and refused to give way. I have learned through past experience to stop and pay attention when this happens, for it invariably indicates that heaven is sending me an ethereal message, a true e-mail. So I stopped and listened to the words being floated through my brain via this melodic blast from the past.
Okay, so God is informing me that He's going to do something new and I need to be aware of this new thing. According to the passage, God is going to make a "roadway in the wilderness and rivers in the desert," at least metaphorically. I know that Spirit often uses the language of symbols, so I am not looking for a literal roadway in the wilderness or rivers in the desert. So now I need either to unlock the symbology or I need to wait for God to reveal this new thing He is about to do in His own time.
In order for this to be a "new thing," it will have to be something that hasn't occurred before, at least in my life since the message was sent to me. Of course, the message could have been sent to Joel Osteen as well since he recently put a different translation of the same verse on a bookmark and sent it to a gazillion people. Ahem. Coincidence? I think not. This is not a common verse, bandied about by people in football stadiums, as is the case with John 3:16. I read his mailer, and it didn't even mentioned the verse on the bookmark. His message seemed to be more about God not being done working on us or through us. His word of encouragement felt more like a confirmation of the ethereal message that had already reached me via that old Phil Keaggy song. The real tell will be if the message is reiterated again in a way that is personal to me. You may think that God doesn't send personal messages to humans, but that is exactly what God does do in our lives, if we're paying attention.
I know some people don't believe in God, much less a God who has a personal interest in our lives. All I can say is that my experience tells me otherwise. I'm not a Christian mystic, who believes in angels, because it is a cool concept. I believe in God and angels because my life experience confirms their existence. You may think me a fool to believe in a personal God who dispatches angels to help and protect us on our life journeys, but I would have to be a fool not to believe after all that I have seen and heard. I have no need to convince you that I am right and you are wrong. Each of us has our own life experiences and our own interpretations of those life experiences. Who am I to judge your conclusions? I think we each have to work this out on our own. We may argue cerebral concepts, but it's futile to argue against life experiences.
What new thing is God going to do in my life? I have no clue. My job right now is to pay attention, to watch for heaven's next move. Rest assured that I am on high alert, waiting for that other rather large shoe to drop. I'm awake in the midst of these dark times, but I am not merely awake. I am awake and watching with a purpose. I'm not merely experiencing metaphysical insomnia. I have already received word about what I need to be doing while I wait and watch, but that is another blog to be written another day. Namaste!
