Thoughts To Ponder: “God Is Your Waymaker Work-Crew“
I have been reading in Isaiah 43:19 for a while. I have read it many times in the past, but as is often the case, God is bringing new revelation.
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert, and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)
First highlighted promise: HE is making your way in the desert
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word desert as : “arid land with usually sparse vegetation; especially: such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually”.
This is what God reminded me of: When a way is made, the work-crew goes first to prepare, before it is accessible to travelers.
If you live in Arizona, or another desert area, you know that especially in the uninhabited places, there can be all kinds of danger. Not only is the heat and the lack of water a potential danger, but also the terrain can be treacherous, and creatures that live there can be unpleasant and often dangerous. Who wants to encounter javelinas, coyotes, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, or tarantulas? Certainly not me.
I do not set out into the desert, without a path to follow, on my own. If someone has gone before me however, and made a way, I would be willing to go. And that is precisely what God promises to do! God is saying HE is the one who is making the way. HE is going before you. HE is the work-crew preparing and providing a way for you so you can move forward.
From Vine’s Concise Dictionary, the Greek word for DESERT (as a noun) is EREMIA, meaning, “A solitude, an uninhabited place”. Interestingly, it also says that “…it does not always denote a barren region, void of vegetation; it is often used of a place uncultivated, but fit for pasturage”.
Maybe God is leading you into a new place. Maybe it is a barren place. Maybe you see obstacles and inconveniences, or situations that make you fearful. Maybe you have a lot of “what if“ questions and worries about how it will work out. Maybe homeschooling is the “new” for you right now. Maybe it’s a new geographical location, or even a new area of your personal life. Maybe it is a way of using your talents that you did not know you had. Maybe your “new” is a yet uncultivated place that has been waiting for the right time.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV) reminds us that, “…He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.”.
He, of course, is God. Trust Him when He says He will make the way. He goes ahead so you can follow. He is faithful.
While I was pondering all this, I felt God whisper to me, “There is another WAY topic in the Bible - another scripture where I am talking about this. It is a crucial part to understanding Isaiah 43:19. Without it, Isaiah would not really matter. Do you see the connection?”
Ah, yes! I remember the words Jesus is speaking in John 14:6. The disciples are asking him for directions to where he is going, so they can follow. He is telling them they know the way, and they seem stunned! They don’t know where he is going, so how can they know the way? Jesus answers them, “I am the WAY, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV). Not only does God make a way for you and I in our personal life, helping us through new seasons, new challenges, and new adventures - He IS that way!
Breaking new land, making paths in the wilderness, is hard physical labor. Sweat and scrapes, injuries, and tired and often broken bodies abound. The WAY Jesus carved out for you and I was also marked by intense physical labor - the laboring on the cross - even to death. No one else has ever given that much to clear a path for me so that I can reach my destination. I see it, the way-making of God, all ties back to Jesus.
Don’t miss this point: God promises not only to make a way for you, He BECAME your way in all capacities possible so you can reach your destination - fullness of life, reunited to the Father.
Prayer:
God, thank you that we do not need to be afraid of new things because you go before us. Thank you, Jesus, that you made a way, and you ARE the way, the path to LIFE reunited with the Father.
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