But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.”
“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.”
I took this photo a few weeks ago of something new I crafted out of something old-filled with memories of childish mistakes and days laced with pain. As you can see I’m much better with words than anything artistic, but nonetheless, it felt good to lay to rest old memories by making “art” out of them.
As I was doing this, I began to think about these verses in Isaiah 43. What a perfect picture of how the Lord truly has and is making something new of old, ugly, and painful things in our lives all the time. I often try to cling so desperately to something I that I think I want as if I always know what’s best for me, when reality Christ is the only one that knows. It seems I cling to sinking ships and lesser passions. I choose man’s opinion as the basis for my self-worth. I trust fear and feeling over God’s truth. I rely on my own strength instead of God’s. All of these things friends, are sinking ships and lesser passions in the end. All the while, our mighty warrior and tender Savior stands waiting to pull us close in our struggles, if we would just grasp His hand instead of grasping for control. May we continue to surrender our lives to Him and let Him make “Something new” out of our past, “Rivers” out of our fleshly, dried up deserts.
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal…”
_Ellie June
Ellie June 