2025 Key Verse: Isaiah 43:19: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
To fully understand this verse, let’s check out the broader context of Isaiah’s prophecy:
Text: Isaiah 43:14-21
This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake, I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
16 This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honour 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,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
Isaiah 43 presents an encouraging outlook for God’s people. When Isaiah wrote these words, Israel was held captive in Babylon, but that will change. God has raised King Cyrus to lead his armies against Babylon and conquer it, allowing His people to return home. God’s sovereign and providential authority over history will be manifest in his ultimate overthrow of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus.
Isaiah 43:16-17 reflects on a historical victory:
16 This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
But Isaiah suggests that the people move on from this event, which is staggering…
Isaiah’s suggestion that people forget about this event is as shocking as someone telling you not to recall Jesus’ resurrection—it’s a past event, so don’t think about it anymore.
But that’s what Isaiah tells the people:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
In these verses, God promises a new exodus, a better one without the travails of the first one.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
God made a way through the Red Sea when Israel was liberated from Egypt. But this time, God would make a way through the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah continues (v.20): The wild animals honour 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.
Jeremiah communicates the same message:
Jeremiah 23:7-8, “So then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
So, back to our key verse, and I love how the New Living Translation states it. It speaks of God’s mighty deliverance of Israel from Egypt and then says:
“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
This passage teaches a powerful life principle: We must let go of the glory of past successes or the embarrassment of past failures to fully embrace God’s new opportunities in the present and future.
And this is where this sermon becomes truly practical. There are two questions I’d like us all to reflect on this week:
Q. 1: Are my past achievements or triumphs preventing me from embracing something new?
Q. 2: Are past failures or mistakes preventing me from embracing something new?
Previous achievements and successes: It was tempting for Israel to look back at God’s deliverance from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea and believe that all their greatness was over—that the future would never eclipse the past.
Remembering and reminiscing is great, except when it holds you back from embracing something new. It’s the same with:
Previous failures or mistakes: Some people are so bound up with guilt and regret over past blunders that it immobilises them.
Q. Does that describe you? (should have / should not have!)
Regret is wasted energy.
I’ll conclude this message with some verses written by Paul, the apostle to the Philippian church—words that beautifully illustrate how Paul embraced something new:
Philippians 3:4-9 — listen to how Paul moved on from his achievements, successes, failures and mistakes: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee. 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
As a Jewish man, he had everything going for him. He was a respected leader in the community. He ticked all of the religious boxes. His future and prosperity were certain. He’d arrived. But he was open to something new.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, [excrement] that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him…
When he chose to follow Jesus, Paul lost everything: prestige, reputation, finances, property, and family.
Imagine the grace the church needed to exert towards Paul, the guy who had imprisoned and killed some of their relatives (Philippians 3:6). This same man was now preaching in their churches. And Paul would need to forgive himself rather than live immobilised by his past failures and mistakes.
It’s a powerful message for us this year, church—God is making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. God is doing something new! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Discussion Questions
Are my past achievements or triumphs preventing me from embracing something new? Share stories with your group that illustrate this.
Remembering and reminiscing are tremendous, except when they prevent you from embracing something new. Share some of your fond memories that you’ll never want to forget.
Are past failures or mistakes preventing me from embracing something new? If you feel comfortable, discuss a failure or error you want to overcome. (The group may like to unite in prayer with you).
Discuss: “We must let go of the glory of past successes or the embarrassment of past failures to fully embrace God’s new opportunities in the present and future.”
“While God does not control the world or individuals, he does exercise sovereign and providential authority over history.” Discuss this statement in light of King Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13), whom God raised to liberate Israel from Babylon, restore them to their land, and rebuild Jerusalem.
Read and discuss Philippians 3:4-14.
This week, please read Acts 1-4, plus the commentary in FRESH.