“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 43:19
Four years, three months, and two days ago, Neue Thing began—“Vintage Faith For The Modern Woman.” A dream, a vision, a ministry for women was birthed out of Isaiah 43:19. I remember publishing that first blog post like it was yesterday. There was so much uncertainty coupled with so much faith. I felt like a scared little girl putting my thoughts out there for the world to read, or perhaps for no one to read.
But I couldn’t shake the stirring in my soul. I couldn’t silence the passion within me. I couldn’t say “no” any longer. God had planted a dream in my heart, a dream so God-sized that I could hardly move—but I had to move. I was compelled to move. Sitting on the sidelines, watching others run was no longer an option for me.
What if women everywhere could be encouraged, equipped, and empowered by the Word of God? What if they could really know the Word for themselves? What if they started believing it, living it, and changing the world around them because of it? What if?
Now over four years later, I sit and type these words with wonder and awe at what God has done. He has encouraged, equipped, and empowered hundreds, even thousands through the proclamation of His Word—one blog post, one Bible study, one small step of obedience at a time.
It would be so easy to sit in this final day of 2015, looking back on four plus years of harvest, kick my feet up and say, “Well, that was fun.” Because it was fun! Every bit of it. It was hard, too. It was challenging. It stretched me beyond what I could have ever imagined.
But it doesn’t stop here.
It’s not over yet.
The best is yet to come.
As I peer into 2016 along with the rest of you, my heart flutters with expectation. My mind races with the wild dream that God has given me for this upcoming year. My soul aches for unity within the body of Christ. And I’m just bold enough to believe that my God is big enough to overwhelm us with what we deem impossible. I’m confident enough to expect His movement to change our realities in 2016. I’m daring enough to believe that He can and He will do immeasurably more that I could even think to ask Him for.
Because this stirring is not just in me. It’s in you. God is doing a new thing, and I believe that the best is yet to come. What began as a whisper, a holy discontent, has begun to awaken the hearts of a sleeping bride. I believe that 2016 will be a year of streams in the desert as God’s people seek His face once again. I believe God is doing a new thing, and now it is springing forth!
Do you see it? Can you hear it?
I have no idea what your 2015 looked like. You may be among the masses who are so grateful to see this year come to a close. But friends, 2016 awaits. A new year, a fresh start, a world of possibilities. A God who is bigger than your biggest obstacle that stands in front of you. So, instead of starting each new year with regret from the past year and determination to make the new year a better, how about we fix our eyes on Jesus and we start running our race? How about we listen to His voice calling us out of complacency and start believing that the best is yet to come?
Let’s run together. Let’s run strong. Let’s take God at His Word. Let’s finally see mountains move. Let’s believe that the best is yet to come. Because it is.
Denise Hulcher says
Amen!!! Fixing our eyes on Jesus, that is what the Lord has been speaking to me. That is what my focus will be, moving into 2016 in good times and challenging times! Love you Cherie!