new = good?

“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."

Isaiah 43:18-19

If you just look at these verses out of context, you might be quick to see an awesome Christian motivational poster. But that is not the intention behind the "new thing" springing forth. God is making a declaration of judgment against His people who grew weary of Him and no longer sought Him (Isaiah 43:22-24). The new thing God was doing was to bring the Chaldeans down upon His people in Jerusalem, and use them to lead a captive remnant back to Babylon because the people have sinfully disregarded their God and their covenant with Him.

New things aren't always good things. A new hurricane spinning through the Atlantic, a newly elected leader, a new decision in a court case, a new scientific breakthrough in a rogue nation... all have destructive consequences inherent in their "newness". And sometimes God uses that new thing to call His people back from complacency as the hard consequences shake us up to the reality of who God is and who we need to be. 

Contemporary culture is idolatrously enamored with what is new... the latest smartphone, the current movie, the hottest holiday toy for children, the viral video, or the celebrity sensation of the day. And it moves faster than ever at the broadband speed of the worldwide web. But the gospel is an old story, and mankind has been answerable to our Creator for millennia since the world was made by Him. These new things that enchant us might be what He hurts to see in us, so another "new thing" we cannot anticipate might be what He uses to destroy our false worship and shake us up so that He can draw us back to Him.