Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 KJV
Some thoughts on this scripture…certainly by saying ‘Look!’ and ‘Behold’ we should pay attention to what is being said. ‘New’ gets my attention also and some definitions are: new: ‘not previously experienced or encountered; novel or unfamiliar; different from the former or the old; not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.’ Then we are told’, “shall you not know it?” In looking up various translations of this, it seems to be a warning that we may miss or not recognize this ‘new thing’ if we are not on alert. “Do you not perceive it?”; “Do you not see it?”; “Will you not be aware of it?” “don’t you recognize it?”
It does sound like the Lord is saying in this Scripture….as the translations above note…’don’t you see it?’ Are your eyes so heavy with slumber so that you do not recognize it, church? Jesus said to His disciples, when they asked Him why He taught in parables, He answered that He spoke in parables to the people ” so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” The Lord is painfully aware of man’s blindsided ways. The miracles, the signs and wonders, the glorious Kingdom truths, like the Beatitudes and the two new commandments were right there before them. The reference to the Old Testament and and its parallels to what was happening right before their eyes there in Judea, Jerusalem, Cana, etc. and yet He had to ‘baby talk’ to them them. ‘Once upon a time” and :In those days”
In fact they were so “blind” that they plotted to kill Lazarus, too, whom Jesus had raised from the dead after four days in the tomb…for it was because of Lazarus’ resurrection that people were turning to Jesus.
I guess it never occurred to them that Jesus could turn right around and raise Lazarus up, again.
And still they did not recognize, perceive, understand, discover, uncover that the Messiah, the Son of God was right there in their midst. And God forbid (cynically) that they should give up their stubborn mindset and repent and be forgiven. Like us!
But these were given to us for examples….Paul says. So Isaiah’s words are as modern as 2013. Blind, deaf, stymied in our addictions…we want the Lord but the walls we raise up in our own lives between ourselves and the Lord keep us from seeing the NEW THING. We can’t see the forest for the trees and we can’t see the ‘new thing’ for the ‘old thing.’
Move furniture from in front of the picture window so light can come in and the eye can see out! “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35
Gratitude is the lens through which I see the harvest and not a bucket list of when I will see the world.
I think a major hold back from experiencing the new is ” letting go” of things in our past. Could be one or all of these three; people, places, things….Always wanting to look back either in thought or word. Trying to go back, instead of enjoying the surroundings of our new wanting to run back to the old. Things we onced enjoyed…leave them for others to enjoy. Could be our youth, clothes or cover girl? Heck, we might as well leave our minds free from this old …because it could only be a fallacy for some of us. We might just be the shopping bag to hold the items that just robbed us of our time, dime and fun. People we let go of are happy to be free of us and we them but we sure can clay mountain build in our minds a fantasy bigger than life. Some precious people we had to let go of because their journey here had ended but we won’t let them go because their memory helps to bury another old poor me thought. This blocks our view and cripples our limbs from serving others with compassion, love, giving and doing.
Do I have dead limbs or am I a sick tree or am I flourishing like a green olive tree in the house of The Lord? Behold, beauty is seeing lush fresh blemish free fruit ripe and ready to eat not hours invested in a spa while I try and dream my way to make myself believe I deserve this. This comment is all about me. I sure hope in 2013 I crawl out of the old me hole!
“I think a major hold back from experiencing the new is ‘letting go’ of things in our past.” This brings to my mind Philippians 3:12-14 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Amazing Tholton….you sure do hear and act to bring light and healing in the midst of chaos. How do you know the antidote and action to stitch the wound, medicate, bandage and say now, move along!
Without the Lord, it’s impossible to know/do anything. Would you agree?
thedailylily.com 
Some thoughts on this scripture…certainly by saying ‘Look!’ and ‘Behold’ we should pay attention to what is being said. ‘New’ gets my attention also and some definitions are: new: ‘not previously experienced or encountered; novel or unfamiliar; different from the former or the old; not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.’ Then we are told’, “shall you not know it?” In looking up various translations of this, it seems to be a warning that we may miss or not recognize this ‘new thing’ if we are not on alert. “Do you not perceive it?”; “Do you not see it?”; “Will you not be aware of it?” “don’t you recognize it?”
It does sound like the Lord is saying in this Scripture….as the translations above note…’don’t you see it?’ Are your eyes so heavy with slumber so that you do not recognize it, church? Jesus said to His disciples, when they asked Him why He taught in parables, He answered that He spoke in parables to the people ” so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” The Lord is painfully aware of man’s blindsided ways. The miracles, the signs and wonders, the glorious Kingdom truths, like the Beatitudes and the two new commandments were right there before them. The reference to the Old Testament and and its parallels to what was happening right before their eyes there in Judea, Jerusalem, Cana, etc. and yet He had to ‘baby talk’ to them them. ‘Once upon a time” and :In those days”
In fact they were so “blind” that they plotted to kill Lazarus, too, whom Jesus had raised from the dead after four days in the tomb…for it was because of Lazarus’ resurrection that people were turning to Jesus.
I guess it never occurred to them that Jesus could turn right around and raise Lazarus up, again.
And still they did not recognize, perceive, understand, discover, uncover that the Messiah, the Son of God was right there in their midst. And God forbid (cynically) that they should give up their stubborn mindset and repent and be forgiven. Like us!
But these were given to us for examples….Paul says. So Isaiah’s words are as modern as 2013. Blind, deaf, stymied in our addictions…we want the Lord but the walls we raise up in our own lives between ourselves and the Lord keep us from seeing the NEW THING. We can’t see the forest for the trees and we can’t see the ‘new thing’ for the ‘old thing.’
Move furniture from in front of the picture window so light can come in and the eye can see out! “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35
Gratitude is the lens through which I see the harvest and not a bucket list of when I will see the world.
I think a major hold back from experiencing the new is ” letting go” of things in our past. Could be one or all of these three; people, places, things….Always wanting to look back either in thought or word. Trying to go back, instead of enjoying the surroundings of our new wanting to run back to the old. Things we onced enjoyed…leave them for others to enjoy. Could be our youth, clothes or cover girl? Heck, we might as well leave our minds free from this old …because it could only be a fallacy for some of us. We might just be the shopping bag to hold the items that just robbed us of our time, dime and fun. People we let go of are happy to be free of us and we them but we sure can clay mountain build in our minds a fantasy bigger than life. Some precious people we had to let go of because their journey here had ended but we won’t let them go because their memory helps to bury another old poor me thought. This blocks our view and cripples our limbs from serving others with compassion, love, giving and doing.
Do I have dead limbs or am I a sick tree or am I flourishing like a green olive tree in the house of The Lord? Behold, beauty is seeing lush fresh blemish free fruit ripe and ready to eat not hours invested in a spa while I try and dream my way to make myself believe I deserve this. This comment is all about me. I sure hope in 2013 I crawl out of the old me hole!
“I think a major hold back from experiencing the new is ‘letting go’ of things in our past.” This brings to my mind Philippians 3:12-14 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Amazing Tholton….you sure do hear and act to bring light and healing in the midst of chaos. How do you know the antidote and action to stitch the wound, medicate, bandage and say now, move along!
Without the Lord, it’s impossible to know/do anything. Would you agree?
My first thoughts are; yes and no? I need to think on this?