Routine

In this week’s Hebrew Bible reading from Isaiah the prophet tells us that God is going to “do a new thing” and “will make a way in the wilderness and rives and in the desert.” Which is a slightly unsettling thing if your someone like me. I love my routines. Coffee and NYT Games on the couch in the morning done in (the correct) order Strands, Connections and finally Wordle. When I was growing up I played goalie on my hockey team and if I didn’t put my equipment on in the right sequence or skipped a pre-game ritual before stepping on the ice for a game I would feel off the entire time and usually played poorly because of it. So that makes me a bit nervous about this “new” thing Isaiah is prophesying about. I also don’t think I’m the only one who might be made uncomfortable by Isaiah saying that God is creating new ways. Because a lot of us enjoy and find comfort in the current ways the same way I find comfort in my routines. The current ways were good to a lot of people. They put food on tables, money in bank accounts, houses above heads and many other good things. The problem is they don’t seem to be working anymore. Hate is rampant, paychecks don’t go as far, many people can’t afford the same things that used to be taken for granted. Hope seems to be dwindling. Which is why Isaiah’s words can also be such a balm to us thousands of years later because God is still saying those same words to us today. A new way is still being made. It will be hard at times because new things tend to be. Breaking from what is comfortable might make us feel off, and like we aren’t doing as well as we were under the old ways. But in the end we will find the promised drink that will quench all thirsts. So as you look back on your week and ahead into the future where is God calling you and us into something new?

Peace,

Corey