Spring Forth / Mrs Rebecca Henderson

Rebecca Henderson

Pastor's Wife

Harvest Baptist Church

Manhattan, KS

A verse God has used in my life over and over is Isaiah 43:19.  "Behold, I will do a new thing: shall ye not know it?"  Fourteen years ago, God used it to call our family to Kansas to start a church.  He used that verse in my heart back then for that purpose.  Little did I know the Lord had plans for me to walk through some very difficult health struggles.  Just recently, God used that verse in my heart again, for a different purpose, to show me He had done a "new thing" in my body and mind.  A year ago, I did "not know it."  I had no idea His plan would include healing.  I hoped and prayed, but I did "not know it."  I have been stuck on that thought a lot lately.  Don't we ALL like "new things"?  Yes, I'm talking about material things.  I LOVE a good yard sale or goodwill find...and a very few of you know that I've even found some "new things" in dumpsters!  Yes, DUMPSTERS!!!  (...a bag of brand new Clinique makeup worth $276 to be exact!)  These things may not necessarily be "new," but they are "new" to me, and I appreciate them just the same.

How can it be so easy for us to value "old" material things as much as "new" material things, yet when God wants to do the very same things in our hearts and lives, we refuse?  There are "old" spiritual things in each of our lives that at one point, maybe even years ago, were "new" and exciting to us.  As we walk through life, we have no idea what God has ahead for us (the "shall ye not know it" part of Isaiah 43:19).  We can be so stubborn (especially as women).  So many times, God wants to "do a new thing" with the "old" part of our lives, but we simply won't allow it.  We can't see His plan, so we resist.  We aren't willing to let go of fleshly desires or unhealthy habits.  These may even be things we consider to be "spiritual," yet, in reality, they are nothing more than empty actions and offerings.  We are comfortable right where we are, all the while, forgetting the original excitement that came with the "NEW THING"!!!  Surrender is all about yielding the "not knowing" in order for a "NEW THING" to "SPRING FORTH"!  Allow Him to do a "NEW THING" in your life today!!!