Isaiah 43 (NRSVue)
19 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.
We must not lose our capacity for hope.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. Isaiah 43:19 speaks of God “doing a new thing” not only for individuals but for an entire people. How might this promise challenge the church today to move beyond nostalgia or maintenance and toward courageous renewal? In what ways can a congregation discern when God is calling it to release old patterns so that His new work can take root within a community?
2.What distinguishes simply perceiving God’s new work from actively participating in it? Could our failure to “perceive” be more than blindness — perhaps a subtle form of resistance to change? In what ways might spiritual awareness itself become a sacred discipline, and how can we intentionally nurture that awareness within our daily rhythms?
3. How does a hope for tomorrow help us to love our neighbor today? And how does our loving our neighbor today help keep us hopeful for tomorrow?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1.When God says He is “making a way in the wilderness,” could that mean He’s reshaping the chaos we’ve grown accustomed to surviving in? In what ways might the comfort of predictability or the safety of routine become spiritual deserts that God intends to flood with new life? Can you recall a time when a wilderness season in your life became the quiet soil where something new was taking root?
2. This week’s passage in Isaiah emphasizes the renewal of the environment, while Ezekiel 36:26 turns attention inward toward the renewal of the heart. Which do you find yourself longing for most right now — external change or internal transformation? Can you remember a season when God reshaped your heart before He altered your circumstances? How might reading these two passages together deepen our understanding of what it truly means for God to “do a new thing”?
3. How does the daily renewal described in Lamentations 3:22–23 deepen or anchor the “new thing” God promises in Isaiah 43:19? Could recognizing God’s new work be less about waiting for the extraordinary and more about noticing mercy woven into the ordinary—and resting in the steady hope it brings?
4. Just as sometimes it takes a trip to Ohio to notice a difference in the way our pants fit, how have you experienced your life or routine differently when you changed your position or perspective?
5. How might our continual movement and activity help us to be prepared for what might come? How does our activity reflect our hope? How does our hopeful activity shine a little hopeful light for those around us?
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. When we pray for guidance, to know where to turn, what is the benefit in also praying some praise for where we have been? How does seeing our past next to our future help us to maintain course?
2. Our days often consist of familiar patterns and routines, what can we do each day to be aware of something new springing forth that we don’t overlook or sleepwalk past?