最近，妻子和我买了一台新的炉灶来替换厨房那台旧的。第一次使用它时，我把盛在锅里的牛奶放在炉灶上面，然后开猛火来煮燕麦。我转身片刻去取一些食材 ——牛奶突然从四面八方滚滚流出来，甚至渗入炉灶门的玻璃之间。我们的新炉灶难道就这样报销了吗？当我们松了螺丝来查看玻璃时，我们很想知道：“为什么会这样？炉灶究竟能否修理得好呢？”
对很多人来说，这个世界的情况似乎也是这样。世界上和我们生活中的问题，令我们感到支撑不住，我们禁不住自问：“究竟有没有脱困的办法呢？”
在以赛亚书43章中，当神的子民在这种感受中挣扎时，神便对他们说话。他们流落异乡，他们的家国已遭毁灭。在绝望中，他们认为永远没有办法脱困。然而神却宣告说：“看哪，我要做一件新事！ … 你们岂不知道吗？”神提醒我们，衪正在着手做一件新事，而祂更邀请我们与衪同工。
我们的炉灶最终修理好了，然而，相比之下，神对这个世界的计划却是伟大得多。衪让我们看到，万事不单只是被重修——它们并且变得比以前的更好呢！而我们看得见吗？
万有之主，我们为你在我们的世界所作的新事感谢你。求你赐我们眼睛看见你在今天的作为，又帮助我们留意到你在我们生命中更新的一切事情。奉耶稣名求，阿们。
以赛亚书 43:16-21
16耶和华在沧海中开道，在大水中开路，
17使车辆、马匹、军兵、勇士都出来，一同躺下不再起来，他们灭没好像熄灭的灯火。
18耶和华如此说：“你们不要记念从前的事，也不要思想古时的事。
19“看哪，我要做一件新事，如今要发现，你们岂不知道吗？我必在旷野开道路，在沙漠开江河。
20野地的走兽必尊重我，野狗和鸵鸟也必如此，因我使旷野有水，使沙漠有河，好赐给我的百姓、我的选民喝。
21这百姓是我为自己所造的，好述说我的美德。
"See, I am doing a new thing!" - Isaiah 43:19
Recently my wife and I replaced our old kitchen stove with a new one. The first time I used it, I put a pan of milk on the range to make oatmeal and turned it on high. I turned around briefly to get some other ingredients—and the next thing I knew, milk was running everywhere, even between the glass panes of the oven door. Would our new stove be ruined? As we removed screws to get at the glass, we wondered, "How did this happen? Will it ever be fixed?"
For many people, it seems the world is that way too. Problems in the world and in our lives can feel overwhelming. We find ourselves asking, "Will things ever be fixed"?
In Isaiah 43, God speaks to his people as they struggle with feeling that way. They are in exile, and their country is in ruins. In despair, they are thinking it will never be fixed. But God declares, "See, I am doing a new thing! . . . Do you not perceive it?" We are reminded that God is at work doing something new, and he invites us to join him.
Our stove eventually got fixed. And God's plan for the world is far greater. He shows us that things will not just be restored—they will be even better than before! Do we have the eyes to see?
Lord of all, thank you for the new things you are doing in our world. Please give us eyes to see what you are doing today, and help us to notice all that you are making new in our lives! In Jesus, Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
