A New Beginning in the Middle of It All

Devotional

Day 1: Rivers in Desert Wilderness

The LORD declares through Isaiah: “I will make a way in the wilderness.” Picture cracked earth under scorching sun—no life in sight. Yet God promises rivers bursting through wastelands, turning sand into streams. This isn’t metaphor. He split seas for Moses. He drowned Pharaoh’s army. Now He says your desert—your debt, depression, dead-end job—will gush with living water. [01:11:08]

God doesn’t wait for your circumstances to improve. He acts mid-mess. The Red Sea parted while Israel stood trapped. Your breakthrough comes not after the struggle, but in its heat. What Pharaohs chase you? What armies surround you? The same God who drowned chariots still drowns threats.

Name your desert—the situation that feels barren. Declare aloud: “God makes rivers here.” Stop rehearsing drought. Start anticipating flow. Where have you stopped expecting God to move because the ground feels too dry?

“Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters… Do not remember the former things… Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
(Isaiah 43:16,18-19, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to open your eyes to His river-building work in your driest place.
Challenge: Pour water on dry soil today—a physical act of faith declaring God’s promise.

Day 2: Bend, Not the End

Cleopas trudged the Emmaus road, thinking crucifixion meant conclusion. Jesus interrupted his grief, turning a bend into revelation. Your detour—the job loss, divorce, diagnosis—feels like a dead end. But bends force new direction. God uses them to reroute you toward purpose. [01:13:51]

Jesus didn’t resurrect in a vacuum. He appeared mid-journey, mid-doubt. New beginnings don’t require perfect conditions. They happen mid-stride—when you’re still weeping, still confused. The disciples’ U-turn to Jerusalem began at a bend.

What bend has you stalled? Name it. Then take one step forward—text a friend, draft a plan, attend a meeting. Resistance proves you’re moving. What familiar path do you need to abandon to embrace God’s rerouting?

“They rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem… Then they told what had happened on the road.”
(Luke 24:33,35, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for His presence on your detour.
Challenge: Write down one “bend” you’re facing and circle the next visible step.

Day 3: Sacred Memory, Present Hope

Israel remembered Exodus as history—God’s past miracle. Isaiah recast it as sacred memory—proof God could act again. Your testimony isn’t just a story. It’s fuel for today’s faith. That healed sickness? That provision? They’re down payments on future deliverance. [01:47:06]

God told Israel to forget “former things” not to erase history, but to prevent nostalgia from blinding them to fresh works. Your breakthrough at 25 wasn’t God’s peak. Your failure at 40 isn’t His finale. Sacred memory shouts: “If He did it then, He’ll surpass it now.”

Revisit a past victory. Write how it proves God’s character. Now apply that truth to a current struggle. What old narrative keeps you from expecting new miracles?

“Do not remember the former things… I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
(Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)

Prayer: Confess any disbelief that God’s past faithfulness limits His future work.
Challenge: Share a testimony with someone facing similar battles.

Day 4: Corners, Cracks, Crevices

The woman at the well hid at noon. The bleeding woman crept through crowds. God sees those in corners—the senior forgotten, the teen bullied, the worker overlooked. Jesus noticed the widow’s mites and Zacchaeus in the tree. Your hidden pain isn’t hidden. [01:20:34]

Society discards what it deems unproductive. But God prioritizes the marginalized. He chose David—the overlooked shepherd. He called Gideon—the least in his clan. Your value isn’t tied to visibility. The church exists to lift voices from crevices.

Who around you feels invisible? Call them by name. Send a card. Invite them to coffee. How might you mirror Jesus’ attention to the “unseen” this week?

“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one person needing to feel seen today.
Challenge: Intentionally affirm someone others ignore.

Day 5: Praise in the Middle

Paul sang in prison at midnight. Jehoshaphat’s army praised before the battle. Real faith worships mid-mess. Your praise isn’t denial—it’s defiance. Every “Hallelujah” in hardship declares: “This storm isn’t my end.” [01:57:56]

God inhabits praise. When Israel marched around Jericho shouting, walls fell. Your breakthrough may require a shout before the victory. Don’t wait for relief to rejoice. Start now—sing, dance, clap. Let praise shift your atmosphere.

Play a worship song. Sing through clenched teeth if needed. Declare “new beginning” over your situation aloud. What chains break when you choose praise over panic?

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God… Suddenly there was a great earthquake.”
(Acts 16:25-26, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for victories unseen, using Job’s words: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Challenge: Blast a worship song and sing along for five minutes straight.

Sermon Summary

Isaiah 43:16-20 anchors a call to recognize new beginnings in the middle of hardship. The passage proclaims a God who makes a way through seas and breathes rivers into deserts, promising renewal that arrives while struggle continues rather than only after it ends. The text contrasts two ways of treating the past: living stuck in history or turning memory into sacred fuel for present hope. The prophetic voice urges forgetting former things not to erase testimony but to refuse confinement to yesterday’s deliverances, so a greater work can unfold now.

The sermon develops practical and communal implications. Faith requires perceiving God’s work amid daily burdens, trusting divine agency even when rent is due, losses mount, or doors stay closed. The community bears responsibility to prevent people from falling into corners, cracks, and crevices—seniors, children, and the socially discarded all need deliberate presence, technological inclusion, and intergenerational spaces. Outreach must aim at the lost and marginalized, not only those who contribute offerings.

Rather than letting past achievements define present expectations, sacred memory reclaims the God of former acts as the same God active today. The God described creates ex nihilo and reorders existing chaos into new order; thus new beginnings can come repeatedly. Belief must move into action: practicing praise, rebuking diminishment and curses, and living now as if already in the new beginning. The call closes with doxology and concrete exhortation to act toward one another—call seniors, protect children’s innocence, seek those discarded—and to embody hope so that new beginnings take root in the middle of life’s mess.

Key Takeaways

1. New beginnings arrive amid struggle Faith does not wait for perfect conditions. The text insists that renewal can begin while problems persist, inviting trust in God’s sovereignty over current circumstances and not only future relief. Acting as if the promise is already at work cultivates resilience and reshapes daily decisions toward hope. This posture reframes endurance into participation in unfolding redemption. [112:00]
2. Refuse to be defined by past The passage calls to stop letting historical rescue become a ceiling for present expectation. Sacred memory preserves testimony while releasing the past’s hold, enabling people to receive a greater deliverance than before. Letting go of public shame and private rumination frees moral and spiritual imagination for fresh movement. [99:55]
3. Protect those in corners and cracks Communal faith requires intentional presence for those who fall through social or technological gaps. Seniors, children, and marginalized neighbors need consistent care, accessible communication, and opportunities to contribute. Preventing isolation preserves dignity and delays cognitive and social decline. [82:07]
4. Mission centers on seeking the lost Scripture models leaving the ninety-nine to rescue the one; mission must prioritize the discarded over convenience. Seeking the lost extends beyond evangelism to restoring social worth and material support, challenging institutions to reorient resources toward those deemed worthless. The church’s identity forms in persistent pursuit, not passive counting of contributors. [92:04]
5. Live now as if renewed Faith requires visible acts that anticipate God’s intervention: praise, testimony, and practical steps toward restoration. Declaring and embodying a new beginning rewires hope into behavior, prompting ethical risks and community solidarity even before circumstances change. This enacted faith invites transformation to catch up with proclamation. [112:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[68:28] - Opening greetings and context
[68:51] - Series: Blueprint for new beginnings
[69:27] - Emotions and changing thinking
[70:31] - Reading: Isaiah 43:16-20
[73:04] - A new beginning in the middle
[75:22] - Recognizing new beginnings now
[82:07] - Caring for corners and seniors
[92:04] - Mission to seek the lost
[99:55] - Tension: Forget former things?
[106:12] - Sacred memory versus history
[110:24] - God as creator and re-creator
[112:00] - Act like the new beginning now
[117:31] - Final declarations and praise

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Isaiah 43:16-20 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

Observation Questions

What specific actions does God claim to have done in the past (Isaiah 43:16-17), and what new action does He promise to do (v. 19)?
In the sermon, how does the idea of “new beginnings in the middle of mess” challenge common assumptions about when God acts? [01:52:00]
What examples were given of people who might “fall through the cracks” in a community, and why are they vulnerable? [01:22:07]

Interpretation Questions

Why does God command His people to “forget the former things” (Isaiah 43:18) if remembering God’s past faithfulness is often encouraged in Scripture? How does this relate to the sermon’s distinction between “history” and “sacred memory”? [01:46:12]
How does the imagery of God creating “rivers in the desert” (v. 19) redefine what is possible in seasons of hardship? What might this look like practically?
The sermon emphasizes that “new beginnings arrive amid struggle.” How does this perspective shift the way we interpret ongoing challenges while waiting for God’s promises?

Application Questions

What practical step could you take this week to intentionally connect with someone who might feel “invisible” (e.g., a senior, a child, or someone marginalized)? How might this reflect God’s heart for those in “corners and cracks”? [01:22:07]
The sermon urges believers to “rebuke curses” spoken over their lives. What negative words or labels have you internalized, and how can you actively replace them with God’s promises? [01:30:29]
How can you “act like the new beginning is already here” in a specific area where you feel stuck (e.g., finances, relationships, or purpose)? What small, hope-filled action could you start today? [01:52:51]
The church is called to prioritize seeking the “lost” over convenience. What habits or systems in your community might need to change to center those who are often overlooked? [01:32:04]
Identify one way your past victories or failures might be limiting your expectation of God’s new work. How can you turn that memory into “sacred fuel” for hope instead?

Sermon Clips

50s

#FaithInTheMiddle

“See, new beginnings really happen not when you come through it all, but in the middle of it all. I said it right there. That's the sermon right there. Somebody ought to reach up and grab that. See see, it takes faith to believe in the middle of it all that god can be trusted for a new beginning. It takes it takes it takes faith to hold on to the promise of god while you're trying to figure out how to make rent. It takes it takes faith. It takes faith in god and and what god has said to believe in new beginnings even when you're going through deep losses in your life,”

40s

#DontLiveInThePast

“the redemptive thing god is going to do will be even greater than what god already did. Whoo. Y'all missed it. Let me go back and get you. What they are supposed to contextualize is that God in the first exodus did it for that generation. What you don't wanna do is limit what God will do in this generation and in your life. Am I coming through? Am I landing? Is anybody anybody getting so if you live in the past, you will not be able to embrace a new beginning.”

48s

#ReachTheLost

“And if there's one thing the church ought to be known for is reaching the lost. One thing the church ought to be known for, our message, our ministry, and our mission ought to be to make sure that we're there to seek lost. You don't believe me, but Jesus said it. He said He said he said, I'll leave the 99, and I'll go looking for the one. Oh, I'm preaching really good right now. I'm preaching real good. Jesus Jesus talked about Jesus talked about lost sheep, lost coin, and even a lost son.”

53s

#BendIsNotTheEnd

“While we're on the road, inevitably, we will encounter a bend, b e n d, a bend in the road. See, a bend in the road does not have to be an end of the road. It just means you've got to be willing to make a different decision. And I'm preaching to somebody today. You've got moments in your life, and you've had moments in your life where you have encountered bends in the road. It's all a part of the topography of life. It's all a part of the journey. I came to tell you that no particular bend in the road has to constitute the end of your journey.”

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