“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” — Isaiah 43:18-19
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Spring. The word brings to mind renewal and warmth.
Spring is the season we wait for with anticipation (at least in New England) — a reward for having made it through the long, darkened, cold days of winter. It is extended daylight to welcome little league and lacrosse. It is buds on the trees, freshly mowed lawns, and the perfectly manicured greens of Augusta. Spring is a pep in our step and a joy in our heart. It is the sound “ahhhh” — a refreshment, like fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Our sports landscape seems to echo nature every spring. It’s the start of a new baseball season — every team on even footing with a goal of greatness. It moves us toward the postseason in basketball and hockey — championship aspirations to be reached. It brings hope in football — new teams, new deals, new dreams realized with the draft.
Look around whichever landscape you choose and spring has a way of demonstrating God’s goodness and the beauty with which He crafted our world. Renewal. Growth. Opportunity. Spring is a visual reminder of each of these.
In the Book of Isaiah, we come across the word “spring”:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me … because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” — Isaiah 43:18-21
The new thing God is doing springs up — much like we see renewal, growth and opportunity spring up before us with the change of season. But it isn’t always with such ease that we walk into new seasons of our lives. Sometimes we seek them. Other times they have a way of arriving unannounced or departing without farewell. Yet, within these words from Isaiah, we can find a playbook for finding our own seasons of spring.
Forget what happened — don’t replay the past. Be present — be where your feet are. He is doing something new — God’s goodness and glory and all He wants to give us are wrapped up here. He is making a way through — we must be willing to go through the winter, through the valley, through the challenge. Praise is a constant — we are “custom-made to praise” it says in The Message translation.
When it comes to the seasons of our lives, let’s remember that every spring requires intention and effort, attention to the present, trust in what’s to come, and acknowledgment — with gratitude — that it is all thanks to Him.
— Jade McCarthy
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