I proclaim to you new things from this time, Hidden things which you have not known. Isaiah 48:6 NASB

Hey, I found a new app on my iPhone that you might like.

I can’t wait to get that new car!

What’s new with you these days? 

I’m just sick of ‘same-ole, same-ole’.  I wish I had something new and exciting to look forward to.

How we all long for new and improved. Who among us has not wanted to believe the copy about some product that will make a difference in our lives?

When I taught French, I loved going to workshops to learn something NEW.  I always traveled to the training with the hope that I’d come home with a fresh and different way to help students acquire French.  I usually did.

From time to time, seminars on how the brain learns best equipped me with tools to engage my students.  One principle, oft repeated, emphasized how the brain craves novelty.  Anything unprecedent or out of the ordinary will stimulate the brain, will wake it up and push it out of its ‘business as usual’ mode.

The last couple of weeks God’s promises of ‘new things’ have captivated my heart, the seat of our imagination.  Two days ago, as I meditated on the Isaiah proclamation above, I cross referenced it to discover other contexts. For example, Paul quotes Isaiah’s prophesy proclaiming God’s plans to bring about what would never even enter our minds, things never before seen or heard.

So, what are some of these new things God has planned? A rapid scan produced these some verse fragments:

Job 29:20 – My glory is ever new with me

Is 42:9 – Now, I declare new things before they sprout

Is 43:19 – I am going to do something new

Is 48:6 – I proclaim to you new things

Is 62:2 – a new name

Is 65:17 new heavens and a new earth

I haven’t even mentioned the new covenant, our new hearts, new mercies, the good NEWs…….

Finally, consider how often the psalmists talk about singing a new song. Why would a new song be needed, if there were not unprecedented and wonderful praise-worthy acts of God?

Marinading in this image of the ‘new’ has brought front and center a startling realization. If we crave the new, if we long for fresh and are drawn to ‘new and improved’, then could it be that God wired us to actually desire ‘new’ and not be satisfied with ‘business as usual’? 

This possibility really excites me.  If God made us to crave ‘different’, then that means he intends to satisfy that need.  Doesn’t he do that with all our needs?

So, how has this ‘news’, this revelation changed my life?

Simply, that every day, throughout the day I keep saying, ‘New things!  New things!’ and I have my eyes up looking around and my ears open to hear, to see, to recognize what is new.

Friends, this is who our God, our heavenly Father is, the creator of all things new.  He himself must love planning and carrying out what will surprise his image-bearers. Since God is infinite, then his projects will never cease to astound and delight us.

We don’t have to wait for the new heavens and new earth to experience God’s NEW in our lives.  New is occurring all around us if we have eyes to see.