In Isaiah 43: 19 it says: “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Unfortunately, ugly and negative things tend to be far more apparent and easier to see than the beautiful things around us. You do not even have to really look for the negative, it practically jumps out at you. And if you do not notice it yourself, it usually does not take long for someone to come along and point it out: “Have you heard…?” True to the old journalistic credo that only bad news is good news.

I am not saying that we should not be able to clearly identify negative things or even sweep them under the carpet. Important is that we recognise the beauty in all its diversity. Many of the new things that God creates are already there and are springing up. We may have to make a little more effort to perceive them, but it is worth the effort. For then we will no longer only see the wilderness and the desert, but will suddenly see the paths and streams of water that God is creating for us. He is creating something new, where all the unpleasant things, all the evil, will no longer exist. He will redeem us and lead us into His kingdom. Do we see it?

Food for thought from a divine service by the Chief Apostle