Lenten Devotion, March 14, 2025

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 Day 11 -- Friday, March 14, 2025

Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21

Devotion: "I am about to do a new thing," God declares through Isaiah. "Now it springs forth, do you
not perceive it?" These words were spoken to people in exile—their own wilderness season. Their past was marked by God's deliverance through the Red Sea, but now God was promising something new: "I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Sometimes we get stuck looking backward, trying to recreate past experiences of God's presence. But the wilderness invites us to look for God in new ways. The same God who made a path through the sea can make streams in the desert. Our wilderness seasons aren't detours from God's plan—they're often the very places where God is doing a new work within us.

What "new thing" might God be doing in your life right now? Where have you been focusing on the past instead of watching for fresh growth? Today, ask God to help you perceive the new paths and streams that are starting to emerge in your wilderness.

Daily Action Steps:

  1. Look for signs of new growth in nature today as a reminder of God's renewing work.
  2. Identify one area of your life where you've been stuck in old patterns and pray for new perspective.
  3. Write down a "new thing" you sense God might be doing in your life or community.

Prayer: Creative God, open my eyes to the new work you are doing. When I am tempted to dwell on the past, turn my gaze forward to your fresh streams of grace. Make a way in my wilderness and rivers in my desert places. Amen.

Breath Prayer: (Inhale) You are doing... (Exhale) a new thing.

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