Christmas Devotion

Saturday, January 3, 2026  

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 43:16–21

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
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.
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,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise. (NRSV)

Reflection

Do you not perceive it? That aroma in the air that tells you rain is on the way. A brightening sky in the early morning, affirming that the sun will soon rise on a new day.

We are in the third day of a new year, and God, speaking through Isaiah, says, “I am about to do a new thing; do you not perceive it?”

Now, wait a minute. This is our time of year for doing new things! We’ve launched our annual ritual of setting goals and touting our resolutions. We’re ready to check off our achievements. Yet along comes this gentle reminder from Isaiah, suggesting that God, too, is writing resolutions and planning a different future. One that can guide his people through the wilderness of their lives. One that can cause rivers to flow across the dry deserts of the world, of people, of human emotion. God is preparing a new thing that brings peace and redemption to the world.

I will admit: as we journeyed through the Bible in 100 passages recently, the many tales of violence, retribution, and wrongdoing made me anxious to get to Isaiah. Yes, all the books of the Bible are important, but Isaiah, in foreshadowing the arrival of the Prince of Peace, the Messiah we call Jesus, represents a turning point. It is Isaiah who calls us to prepare the way of the Lord. It is Isaiah who inspires us to join with God, who is preparing to do something new in the world.

May this be our mandate for a new year: to be alert to the new thing that God is doing in our lives and around us. 

Prayer

Take our lives and let them be consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take our moments and our days; let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

Amen. 

(Text adapted from the hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be," Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874)

Reflection written by Sarah Forbes Orwig, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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