“God is doing a new thing in the earth!” Have you ever heard that phrase? It sounds promising and pregnant with hope. New things are always exciting. But is God really doing a new thing today? This question may cause some to take pause. Some may even refuse to think otherwise because it's been said so often. And if we hear something often enough, we begin to believe it. Even if it isn't true! Still, why wouldn't He do a new thing? In fact, He has! God has done a new thing! Is it something hidden, yet to be revealed? Let's look and see what it could be…

 

Nothing new under the sun

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:9

Oops! Seems this already contradicts what we said. But listen to the words of Solomon. As far as he could see, there is nothing new in the earth. What's old is new. What was is again. At least two thousand years had passed since Adam. You would think something new would have happened Solomon's day! With everything God did for Israel, was there was anything new?

“Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:10

Oh well, I guess not! But there is something Solomon didn't see because he was looking backward. There is one thing God does new. But first…

 

Is there a need for anything new?

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” ~ Genesis 2:2

For some reason, we think God took a holiday after Creation and then went back to work at some point. I haven't found where He did. When God finished His work, He rested. How long did He rest? He is resting still! He is now waiting for the fulfillment of all things. To know more about how God is working our lives today, please read The Knowledge of God.

 

Behold I will do a New Thing

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

Here is the verse everyone thinks of when saying God is doing a new thing. And it says He will! Will is the operative word. And when we examine the context, it reveals the thing God plans to do. When God speaks through Isaiah of making away in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, He is foretelling the coming of Christ! And when Jesus came, He revealed the way of righteousness through a wilderness created by sin and brought living water to a dry and desolate world.

“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:10

Let's look at Isaiah 43:2. This verse describes God's protection of the children of Israel. So as much as we would like to, we cannot properly apply this prophecy to ourselves today. We have to look further. God has occasionally mentioned new things. In Isaiah 48:6, he said I've showed you new things from this time, even hidden things and you didn't know them. It's not that God created something new. They already existed. But the meaning and understanding was hidden. But when it was revealed, it was new to them.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away; behold all things are become new. Of course we know this is concerning being born again. And in Revelation 21:5, Jesus said “Behold, I make all things new.” He is talking about the new heaven and earth. Yet all of these things were established from the foundation of the world. So again, once God began resting from all his work, he waits.

 

Tell us some New Thing

“And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)” Acts 17:19-21

The people of Athens and their visitors were always seeking some new religion. This showed the lack of confidence they had in the gods they were already serving. They figured adding one more would help them to cover all the bases. Paul explained to them that they didn't need to hear about something new. They need to hear about what was real and true. And this is what they should seek after. Why should we ask for or expect something new if we are not obeying or adhering to what God is already spoken? The good news is, we already have insight into what God will do!

 

What is God Doing Today?

Actually, the real question is, what are we doing? To know what God is doing today, all we need to know is what He has spoken in His Word. By this, we can know what God's will is for our lives. We can know if He will answer prayer. None of these things are secrets or new things we need to seek after. His will for our lives is simple. He called us to salvation so we can share that salvation with others. That is His will for our lives no matter what else we do. We know that He will answer prayer if we ask according to His will.

He promised He will withhold no good thing from those who walk upright before Him. Until we grasp what He has already spoken and promised, we will always be seeking after some new thing and wondering why it never comes to pass. That's because God is already set in motion everything He will do. All we need to is walk into it obedience and prayer. For a more detailed look, please read The Knowledge of God.   I hope this post was helpful. Thank you for visiting!