Can You Perceive It?

Isaiah 43:18-19 is being cited by many as an apt scripture for this time:

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
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.”

This well-thumbed verse in many a Bible is, of course, preached at many turning points in the lifetime of a church, family or team. It reminds us clearly that God still is both capable of, and wants to do, brand new things, things “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived”. 1 Corinthians 2:9

Sometimes the greatest enemy of a “new day” is our years of memory about how to do life and ministry. These can dull our hearts and minds to the point where we find ourselves repeating well-worn patterns from recollection, instead of striking out into new territories. Most of us who start out as pioneers, soon find ourselves settling, as the emotional and literal cost of new days and fresh ways takes its toll on our aging sense of adventure.

Even if we could muster up enough energy to crave new days, sometimes the strength of nostalgia, the sheer blinkering effect of powerful recollections and the capacity our minds have to live within our own narrative, means we can almost seem unable to even perceive what new things God might want. Most of us certainly look at change as less attractive as we age, and spend time gold-embossing nostalgic memories, that were never actually as idealistic as our minds tell us! It would seem that embracing new things requires an almost supernatural level of spiritual perspective.

You Need To Perceive It

This is difficult, because the verse in Isaiah makes it clear that to enter new times, requires the ability to perceive them. 

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

It seems paramount that we somehow forget the past, and instead perceive and recognize God’s new ideas when they arrive. It also informs us that it is far from automatic or intuitive to do so, otherwise it wouldn’t need proclaiming by a prophet in the way Isaiah does!

But look again at the Ancient of Days: Isaiah teaches us that God is still pioneering pathways into deserts and uncharted territories, making previously uninhabitable places, habitable, with flowing streams bursting forth in arid lands.

Dreams we have given up on, He still has plans for. Ideas that simply would not support us, are no longer inhospitable deserts, but have streams of provision flowing like never before. Places where you could not bring up a family, will teem with life, and wastelands where the Gospel has failed to thrive in millennia, can suddenly embrace the Saviour with unbridled acceptance. There is a world of God’s “new” beyond the limitations of our imaginations – if we could only see what He sees!

Entering the new is challenging. Entering a new season is hard enough, so how on earth do we enter a whole new era? Are there some mind-sets, postures and life-hacks that may help us step beyond our memories, into the world of God’s imagination? I believe so.

It begins with asking God to help us see. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians ! “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe”.

Pray that prayer over yourself today. Lord, give us eyes to see!

An extract for The Divine Reset & Beyond: Pre-Order Your Copy HERE.

God is doing a new thing. Today, I declare that I will not dwell on the past (Isaiah 43:18–19). God is moving in my life—right now, even if I can’t yet see it. He is making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Where there has been dryness, refreshing is coming. Where there has been confusion, clarity is rising. Where there has been delay, breakthrough is beginning. I release regret, disappointment, and old mindsets. I open my heart to the new thing God is birthing in me.

I won’t resist the change—I’ll embrace the shift. God is doing something new.

To help us continue producing these FREE resources would you consider sowing a seed using the link above or make a purchase from our online shop. Every little helps. Thank you!