“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” (Isaiah 43:19)
Everyone loves something new. When you buy a new toy for a child, it does not matter if that toy is less expensive or smaller than the old one he had, you can see the excitement and the joy in his face as he gladly accepts the gift and rushes to have a go at it.
When a man buys a new car, you can see a childlike expression on his face as he talks about the features of the car and what makes it fantastic. When a woman does a new hair or buys a new dress, she can’t wait to go out and hear compliments from people about the dress or how nice her hair is.
The fact is that we call love something new. This is why there is always a sense of anticipation when a New Year is about to unfold and people gather together to celebrate the coming of the New Year with fireworks and celebrations.
Guess what? God loves new things as well! How do I know this? The scripture confirms it. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 – NIV)
Notice that there is an exclamation mark at the end of that scripture. It reveals excitement as a result of something new. When a man comes into Christ, heaven is excited; God is excited. The Bible confirms that heaven throws a party any time someone gives his life to Christ. (Luke 15:7)
In Africa, when a child is born to a family, the news is spread from one family member and friend to another. Decades ago, young people were sent with the news of the newborn baby and will even travel long distances bearing the glad tidings.
What is so important about the ‘New’? It is because the ‘New’ signifies change. When a man has been going through a lot of hardship and tough issues in life, he yearns for something new; he desires a change. Even for those who have relatively comfortable living conditions look forward to something new. No one wants to remain static, every one wants something new.
As we desire change and hope for something new this year, we need to ask ourselves the big question, what new thing does God want me to do? We no doubt have asked Him all we want to achieve this year.
Many have written lists of things they want God to help them accomplish. There is nothing wrong with that at all, in fact God encourages us to trust Him for these things and He has promised that if we trust Him, He will indeed do it for us.
Seeing that we love new things, shouldn’t we also seek to do something new for the Lord? I hear some readers think aloud, what new thing can I do for Him? Well, I am sure that there would be something we haven’t done before that would please Him. For instance, how many people did you bring to Christ last year? How many people did you minister help and encouragement to in the last year? Why not look for a different ministry group in church to assist, especially the ones no one want to be part of? You never know who will be challenged and encouraged by this.
For some of us, a change of attitude is a new thing God will appreciate. Some Christians are so spiritual that they practically separate themselves from the unbelievers around them. They show hostility and contempt to their neighbours rather than the love of Christ. Do away with the old, let the new you filled with love and blessedness emerge! That change of attitude may be all that is needed to turn your neighbours to the Lord.
God loves to bless us with new things because he knows we appreciate something new; that is how we were created. If we are excited about something new, then I believe we should seek to do something new for the Lord so that we can in our own little way do something new that would excite Him.
Have a lovely and blessed new year.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org
