ORA
  • Blog
  • About
  • Events
  • Team
  • Resources
  • Stora
Picture

Not Yet

2/4/2019

0 Comments

 

A Reflection on the First Reading for April 7th, 2019:
​Fifth Sunday of Lent

Isaiah 43.16-21

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
“Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.

“I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

“The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.”

"Trip anticipation". That’s what I dub the time between booking travel plans and going on the actual trip.  It’s the time in-between where all I can think about are all the exciting and new things I’m going to get to see, do, and eat! I love that time almost as much as I love the trip itself. Whether I’m preparing for a weekend away with friends, a solo trip to a foreign country, or a family vacation — the anticipation does all kinds of good for my mind and heart. Thinking about the soon-to-happen trip in the midst of my day to day busyness boosts my spirit. I have something to look forward to; a great expectation builds in me. There’s fun to be had — not quite yet, but soon! 

It’s that in-between time that I believe the prophet Isaiah is talking about in our reading: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” The prophet is writing at a time when God’s people are once again under captivity. Many are questioning what happened to God’s promises. Isaiah is telling the Israelites that God has not forgotten His chosen people. God is constantly creating anew all that they need. And why wouldn’t He? He is the almighty powerful God who saved the Egyptians by making a path in the sea and destroying those who gave chase in chariots. God took care of them and they can expect Him to continue to do so. 
"God is constantly creating anew all that they need."
Tweet
While I have no idea what it is like to be held captive, I do know what it’s like to have days and even weeks where I am pulled in all kinds of directions and don’t know which end is up. In the midst of our crazy lives and the busyness of our days it can be difficult to remember that God is at work in it all. I get so focused on the task at hand — okay, maybe the 10 tasks at hand — that I can’t see what’s beyond. I cannot see God consistently caring for all my needs — before I even know I need them. While I’m bogged down with this world and what my humanness tells me to focus on, God wants to remind me of what is “not yet”. As a follower of Christ I am called to have faith in that not yet-ness; to have faith in the goodness yet to come. I have to acknowledge and witness the goodness of God that has already happened in my life. In doing so I encourage myself, and others, to recognize that there is so much more goodness to come. An everlasting goodness that is worthy reason, as Isaiah writes, to declare God’s praise. God is not done with me, or any of us… yet.
​

Aurea Sadi
Picture

Picture
Donate
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • About
  • Events
  • Team
  • Resources
  • Stora