To the Jewish faith the Exodus out of Egypt and into the Promise Land is huge. It is the pivotal point of everything. God showed up in history in that event and worked His sovereign works in such a way that nobody could ever look back and say, “This is what we did.” No! The exodus was what God did.

As huge as the exodus was, however, Isaiah told the people in his day, “Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past” (Is. 43:18). Isaiah asks the people to let go of the past, not because it wasn’t important anymore; it was important. It was just that God was going to do “Something new” in the world, so huge that even the exodus pales in comparison (Is. 43:19).

And what exactly was this “something new”? As God made a way when there was no way, so, too, He was going to make a way out of spiritual darkness and deserts and bring into the dry, barren places the fresh flowing river of God. It would flow “far as the curse was found,”[1] and deeper than our deepest sinful stain. It would bring life into death and new beginnings into dead ends.

As God provided the way out of Egypt and into the Promise Land so He would provide the way out of the bondage of sin and into the life of God. God made a promise and what He promised He has now done in the life of Jesus Christ. In Jesus the past has met the future and as a result our present moments are embraced by the grace of God. Indeed, God is up to something great and we, and everyone in our world, is invited to be a part of it.

This is why local churches in neighborhoods around the world exist. They are here to let the river of God flow through them into the lives of everyone within their sphere of influence.
[1] From the third verse of “Joy to the World,” by Isaac Watts, 1719