Among the many good words shared in our Seeking Together gatherings was this one given in Spring Arbor. It is a good representation of several words we heard related to God doing “a new thing” in the Free Methodist Church. As is so often true with the things of God, this word is both decidedly uncomfortable and supremely hopeful:
I see — I feel — myself huddling, arms over my head as the cathedral walls crumble around me.
Lord, I know I prayed for renovations, but I thought these walls were structural! If You tear them down, then what will be left?
The rubble throws up dust like smoke, and as I look up, what once was beautiful now looks like a ruin, like the ruins of a once great thing.
God, how can this be Your doing? Where — why — is Your hand in this earthquake?
And I hear the Lord answer:
“See, I am doing a new thing!”
This reading from Isaiah 43:16–21 (NIV) followed:
This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
And they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
“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.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
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.”
As we enter this new year with hope and expectation that God is ready to do a new thing among us, may we give ourselves to deep, united prayer. We do so because Scripture reminds us that every fresh work of the Spirit involves some measure of disruption. The familiar must yield to the unexpected purposes of God. The illusion of control must be surrendered so we can embrace the unpredictable — and sometimes undignified —movement of the Spirit.
Even institutional structures that have served us well are in the process of being reimagined so new life and innovation can emerge. And while we honor the memories of past glory, we choose bold faith that God is ready and able to do something just as glorious in our own day. In this posture of awakened hearts and open hands, let us pray together for God’s transforming work among us.
Prayer
Loving Father, we are grateful that You are living and active in Your world today. Your eyes are always roaming “to and fro over all the earth, to show” Yourself “strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to” You (2 Chronicles 16:9 BSB). May we be such a people.
We confess that we do not love the disruption that comes with change. We love the idea of faith, but we confess we tend to opt for ways of living that do not require it. Forgive us and instill in us the courage to turn from nostalgia, to surrender control, and to release our grip on that which is comfortable and familiar so that You might do a new thing among us. We long for life that is truly life. We long to see every Free Methodist Church thriving and bearing good fruit. We long to see multitudes coming to faith and finding new life in Jesus Christ. We long to be the kind of people who demonstrate to a watching world the beauty of a people whose lives are being transformed together by Your perfect love. We long to be salt and light in our world by living in ways that reflect Your heart for holiness, righteousness, and justice.
We long for an uprising of young leaders who would take their place on the front lines of kingdom work and lead us to fresh expressions of faith in community. We long to see new works emerging in towns, cities, and urban centers across the nation. Father, we believe this is what a Spirit-fueled movement looks like, and we pray that You might ignite such a work in and through us.