The Paradox of New

There’s been a lot of NEW in my life lately. New job, new personal business, new class in seminary, new boots for the fall season. And honestly, sometimes the new can be absolutely terrifying (except for my boots – they’re super cute).

New brings you to the edge of the unknown and just shoves you right in the deep end. It requires quick adaptability and a high level of emotional energy to handle all the situations coming your way that you’ve never experienced before. I’m having to learn about website coding and SEO’s, and the world of digital marketing is a whole realm of unknown that often leaves me cross-eyed.

New also means letting go of something so you can grab onto what God has for you next. But letting go is hard. Part of me is still grieving what I had to leave behind to step into this next chapter, even though I know it was the right decision.

While new can be scary, our God is a God of new. In Isaiah 43:19, he says, “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.”

As I step into this land of new, I can’t focus on the wilderness and the wasteland around me, the unknowns and the things left behind. I have to keep my eyes trained on the way God is moving through the confusion to spring up a stream of opportunity.

Because new also means that God opens doors to adventures beyond what you could even ask or imagine. He takes a desert and turns it into a source of life. He brings you into deeper, more intimate contact with Him as he stirs your heart toward the alignment of your path with His will. New means excitement, refreshment, and adventure, and the unknowns and loss that accompany new become overshadowed by the promise of the journey.

So whether your “new” falls into the category of big and scary or size 8 and in brown leather, my prayer is that we perceive God’s “new thing” with excitement and expectation as it springs up before us to guide us closer to Him.

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*This blog also appeared as a guest post on The Well – a faith-based blog uniquely designed for women. Check it out here.