But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine….
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

–Isaiah 43:1 & 18-19

 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.”

– John 14:18-19

The One who formed you, the One who breathes the breath of life into you, the One who redeems you and calls you by name and knows your innermost thoughts, hopes and dreams, God Almighty, our Lord is doing a new thing. He is making a way in the wilderness and making rivers in the desert. It is springing forth. Through the chaos swirling around us, God is doing amazing things.

As the chaos that followed the Last Supper was about to unfold, Jesus promised the disciples, “because I live, you also will live.” He was about to endure physical suffering that, viewed through our human eyes, looked like the end for Him. His words provided and continue to provide a beacon of hope for those with eyes to see. 

Jesus lives indeed and we feel His holy presence through His Holy Spirit who takes up residence within our hearts, and we trust His promises. So if He promises to be doing a new thing, we trust that He indeed is doing so. What do you see? It springs forth, do you see it?

Last Wednesday I watched Ravi Zacharias deliver two messages through YouTube. His image and voice filled our living room and I had the best seat in the house. In one he described the episode that led him to Christ Jesus. He was 17 years old, living in India when he attempted to take his life by swallowing poison. He woke in the hospital with his mother by his side. The doctor said that the poison was extremely salty, so his body rejected it, saving his life. As he recovered in the hospital, a man he had met but did not know came in with a Bible. His mother did not allow the man to stay, but he left a Bible and asked her to read it out loud, and she did. She did not know English well, so she struggled to read the King James Bible, and as she read, Ravi listened and when she read Jesus say at John 14:19, “because I live, you also will live” God captured his attention. Ravi described it as “a bolt of lighting in a moment of pitch blackness.” After hearing Jesus promise life, Ravi knew Jesus was not discussing the type of life he had been experiencing. He said, “Jesus, if you are who you claim to be here, I want that life that I do not have, if this is the life you are offering to me.” Ravi had just tried to end his life and here Jesus was promising him that he would live. He wanted to learn more. He promised to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of truth and he endeavored to make good on that promise.

Merely days earlier, he had been completely lost. He had believed he had no value to anyone. He thought he would never have a purpose, but through a man entering his hospital room carrying a Bible, God captured Ravi’s attention and he found his purpose and he has introduced countless others to Jesus Christ. 

From the rubble of an attempted suicide, God revealed love, light and life. He illuminated the path forward through the wilderness and quenched a desert thirst for wholeness, satisfaction and purpose. God did a new thing in and through Ravi’s life and transformed him from dark desperate despair to a beacon of God’s light. 

On Wednesday evening, Ravi filled our living room for hours. The next day I learned that Ravi had passed on to be with our Lord on Tuesday, the day before he filled our home. As I watched and listened to and marveled at his brilliant Godliness, I had no idea he was with our Lord in heaven. He lives on, not only in heaven, but through many remarkable videos and books, and through the lives he touched and continues to touch. 

God promises He is doing a new thing. It is springing forth. Do you perceive it? 

May you have eyes to see past the chaos, may you focus on God’s glory shining before you, may you see the new thing He is doing.