I have already begun

But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. (Isaiah 43:18-20 NLT)

Nothing compared to what I am going to do. Those words might just bring hope to some today as they look over the events of their last year and consider what God may have planned for them this one. The 'new thing' God is about to do might not be evident right now, but if we look close enough, draw close to his heart as we do, and begin to consider all he has done, we might just catch a glimpse of it! He has already begun - those are words of assurance, my friends.

What will God begin in you this year? It could be that he didn't finish something in the previous year but will bring it to completion as we venture into new things with him this year. I like to take the time each year to ponder all the ways God has been at work in my life. Physical health, emotional stability, the ups and downs of daily life - all are able to show us where and when God intervened much better in hindsight than they might have been while going through those things, right?

The 'pathway through the wilderness' some may have been walking could bring some hope today because he assures us that he WILL make a pathway through it. It isn't reliant upon us to navigate our way through it alone. He is already making that pathway known, we might just need to take time to consider what it may be and how he is leading us in that direction. Dry wastelands don't seem all that inviting, but whenever God prepares them, allowing us to go through them, he also prepares a pathway he will lay out for us in order to come through them.

I have already begun. Those are words I keep coming back to because they speak volumes. He has begun it. It is already in operation. He is orchestrating the pieces of our lives. He began and he will finish. The Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last - he is the one who began it and that ensures he will be the one to finish it. Whatever God is bringing about for you this year, may you find courage to traverse that pathway with him and see the marvelous things he has prepared in advance for you. Walk on...