January 12, 2026

WHAT DOES GOD WANT TO DO THROUGH YOU?

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. 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.

Isaiah 43:16-19 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

Through the prophet Isaiah, God speaks to Israel and reminds them of the miracles He performed when He delivered them from Egypt—how He made a way through the sea and defeated their enemies. Then comes a surprising command: “Forget all that.”

God is not minimizing the past. He is teaching His people not to live there. When we cling too tightly to yesterday’s victories, we can miss what God wants to do today. The same God who moved powerfully before is ready to move again—often in a new way.

I was recently in a long conversation about a church that asked me to help them. They have a rich history, and powerful memories of what God once did. But they’ve lived in those memories for years. They resisted change—holding tightly to the same Bible translation, the same hymns, the same methods. Over time, the congregation dwindled to fewer than fifteen people, with only one person under seventy. Somewhere along the way, they stopped believing God could do something new.

God told Isaiah to declare that the new work had already begun. That’s important. God’s work often starts in the spiritual realm long before we see it in the natural. The question is not whether God is working—the question is whether we have eyes to see it. That kind of vision only comes from time spent with God and His Word, allowing our thinking to align with His.

God has already begun new things in your life. Do you see them? Are you attentive enough to recognize what He is stirring?

God says His new work will look like “pathways through the wilderness” and “rivers in the dry wasteland.” In other words, He promises direction when the way forward is unclear and provision when resources seem scarce. He reveals Himself as our Guide and Provider, especially in difficult seasons. When we listen and obey, He opens paths we couldn’t see and supplies what we could not produce.

This reminds me of a trip I took years ago to Kenya. We were traveling with a local missionary across barren land—no roads, no signs, no landmarks. Just dry ground stretching in every direction. We were headed to a remote village to seek permission to dig a water well and plant a church. After a long drive, we finally saw a cluster of trees in the distance and knew we were close.

The missionary knew the way. I didn’t. All I could do was trust him. Eventually, we arrived. A church was planted. The gospel reached a new people group. What looked like emptiness became a place of life.

God knows the way, even when we don’t.

Let me ask: What new thing does God want to do in you and through you?

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit, open my eyes to see the new things You are doing. Give me ears to hear Your voice and a heart willing to follow Your leading. Amen.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”