This morning, at our first service in 2022, we looked at Isaiah 43:18-19 and investigated the ‘new thing’ God is doing (see also Rev 21:5). God is a God of creativity and is always doing new things, but so often, we fail to perceive what He is doing. It’s too easy for us to dwell in the past or to fantasise about the future, but whilst we must remember what God has done (Deut 4:9, Deut 5:15), we must also learn not to dwell in the past, either reminiscing with rose-tinted glasses or being weighed down by failure. Like God, we must actively choose not to remember (see Heb 8:12, Heb 10:17) and learn to live in the present, God’s gift to us.
To perceive what God is doing requires spiritual vision. We will never see the impossible unless we believe God’s promises are trustworthy and true. Abraham had to believe in ‘the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not’ (Rom 4:17) before he saw God’s promise of a son and heir come true. The things God has promised must be received (and held onto) by faith. We see this in the life of the prophet Elijah. He prayed, and for three years there was no rain in Israel. (1 Kings 17-18) At the end of this period, we see him and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel; we see the conclusive victory God brings by sending fire onto the sacrifice Elijah had prepared. (1 Kings 18:22-39) After this, Elijah tells the king, Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’ (1 Kings 18:41) The only problem was that there was no rain.
Elijah’s servant told him numerous times there was nothing to see, no sign of rain. (1 Kings 18:43) Seven times, Elijah told him to go back. Most of us, I think, would have given up at this point. But Elijah did not give up, and the seventh time, the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ (1 Kings 18:44) This did not look like much, but Elijah knew this was the answer to his prayer, and sure enough, ‘the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling.’ (1 Kings 18:45) The word of the Lord, spoken through Elijah, proved true. There was the visible evidence of rain for all to see.
Each time that Elijah had spoken of rain, there was apparently nothing to see, nothing to perceive. But ultimately, all the people saw and felt the rain. This was no hole-in-the-corner miracle. And what God is doing now in Goldthorpe may seem insignificant, ‘as small as a man’s hand.’ It may seem like He is doing nothing, but I believe He is working now, doing a new thing, that a new thing is springing up like flowers blooming in a desert place after the rains. I believe that as churches work together in unity and faith, as God’s favour is upon us and we work alongside other organisations, God is doing a new thing, something that will bring refreshment, that will be seen as a way in the wilderness, that streams of living water will effectively be seen in the wasteland known as the Dearne Valley. The question He asks us is ‘do you not perceive it?’ and we can only perceive, see and observe if we seek God as Elijah did and believe what He says.
