“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 desert and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:18-19
This verse is our Tambo Tribe verse and has been literally springing up again and again over the past couple of months. When our team first got put together, Kendall, who is our new team leader, spoke this verse over our team. It wasn’t long after when our squad leaders shared this verse with us and said they thought it fit us well. We then got to our first ministry site in Nepal and as we walked into the living room of our home for the month- there it was, Isaiah 43:18, printed on the wall! We repeated it again and again in Nepal and it held true many times.
Now, we are in Kenya and staying with a new family in a wonderful home. In our first week here, they shared with us some pretty major issues they are having with the landlord and needing to move unexpectedly because of it. They had a lot of turmoil and stress because of what was happening in the situation. During devotions one night, Kendall shared our team verse in Isaiah with them. They were grateful and said it applied. A week or so went by and we are still in the house but it was been quite hectic, not seeing the family much. We got up to introduce ourselves at a church the other day and our contact shared that she knew we were brought here to speak to them in this trying time. She said that Kendall sharing that verse was why God brought us here at this time. We had no idea that God had used that verse yet again in such a powerful way. Amen!
It has been so true though, as much as I am the same, new things are happening. Gratefulness has sprung up, but other things too. There is a trust and fight in me, I’ve been missing. It’s not so much the race or what I am doing here that is springing things up, but just the distance from all that I love. The trust I have had to develop in God and others has changed as I faced fears all around, not having the things I usually depend on. I don’t really know how people face those fears in their lives without God and the peace He provides. So, as He makes ways in the desert and gives me hope in the hard times, I can see the new things. I am excited to see how Isaiah 43 is used in Rwanda.
