A Way in the Wilderness: Isaiah 43:16-21

A Reflection for Sunday, April 6 by Esther Knicely Baine

Lectionary reading for 04/06/2025: Fifth Sunday in Lent Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8

Selected passage for reflection: Isaiah 43:16-21

Read

Isaiah 43:16-21 - NRSV

16 Thus says the Lord,

    who makes a way in the sea,

    a path in the mighty waters,

17 who brings out chariot and horse,

    army and warrior;

they lie down; they cannot rise;

    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

18 Do not remember the former things

    or consider the things of old.

19 I am about to do 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.

20 The wild animals 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,

21 the people whom I formed for myself

so that they might declare my praise.

Reflect

One of the recurring themes in the story of God and Israel is the danger of forgetting. When the Israelites fail to pass down the stories of God’s faithfulness to the next generation, they easily fall into the slavery of idolatry. How true this is for us as well. As we reflect and share what God has done, our faith is strengthened and belief grows.

The author of Isaiah understood this well, reminding the reader that God actively works on behalf of those who love Him (Isaiah 64:4, Romans 8:28).

Consider the story of the Red Sea in Exodus:

“God did not lead [the Israelites] by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.” (Exodus 13:17-18, NRSV) 

The author of Isaiah reminds Israel that God, in His wisdom, leads His people on the best path to freedom—even when it doesn’t appear to be the most direct route. He knew that facing war too soon might drive the Israelites back to the very oppression they were escaping. Instead, He took them on a journey designed with their ultimate good in mind. As Isaiah later writes:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8)

What a relief to know that God is God, and we are human.  We are not in control, and the burden to map out our own destiny does not solely reside on us. It is this freedom from trying to control our own destiny that liberates us from our own anxieties, our own fear from the “what ifs” and allows us to embrace our limitations. We do not know it all.

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.” (Isaiah 43:18)

What is holding you captive—fear, worry, doubt? Pay attention to the new thing God is doing. He is making a way in the wilderness, reminding His people that the old order—oppression, despair, scarcity, anxiety—is being replaced with something new.

And yet… Is there water in a desert or a pathway in the wilderness? Should we really be going the roundabout way? It doesn’t seem logical. Will an ostrich and a jackal—symbols of desolation and wild unpredictability—a flightless bird and a cunning wild animal—bring honor to God? Is it possible?

Or can we allow the memory of God’s past faithfulness and the hope for a new world order guide us?  Can we live more fully into our purpose as a people created for abundant flourishing and free lives, in God?

This is an everyday struggle and the world around us does little to encourage this hope. And yet as the author of Isaiah points out, we cannot easily see beyond the standard order of deserts devoid of rivers and roundabout directions that lead us to a seeming dead end. Perhaps God is inviting us to shift our perspective; to keep hope alive; to trust in a different kind of logic; to remember that the kingdom of God plays by a different rule book. Remember that ultimately, “[we] Christians believe that the crucifixion of Christ---utter powerlessness--is his greatest moment of power…it is a paradox, a dilemma and finally becomes a choice” [Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs]. Today live into that choice, choosing hope and light and reliance on God over the more readily available and cynical perspective of this world.

Respond 

Take a moment to think of the ways that you are living far from freedom and relying on your own limited perspective or the perspective of the world to inform the way you think about things and/or make choices. Sit in silence for a few moments and listen for the invitation from the Spirit inviting you into a “new thing” that is springing forth. Perhaps you cannot yet see it but you can hear the birthing of its seedling.

Rest 

Father, Son and Spirit we invite you to give us eyes to see the world as you see it. To revel in the nooks and crannies, the mess of the unfinished and the roundabout way. Show us how to be present in times of sorrow and in times of joy. And always remind us of the deep knowledge of you being a God who acts for those who wait on him. 

Amen.

About the Author 

Esther Knicely Baine

Esther Knicely Baine lives in Atlanta with her two daughters and husband. She has served in vocational ministry among those on the margins of society for about 8 years, but aside from some volunteer work, she is currently on a hiatus. She is most passionate about how God’s love meets all people and his redemptive purposes often play out contrary to the ways we initially imagine.