PROVING GROUNDS

By PST JK Woodall

Foundational Scripture: Isaiah 43:18–19 (KJV)

There is something about the new that I want us to consider. When God says He is going to do a new thing, we often think about what we are going to receive. We think about new opportunities, new doors, new beginnings, and new experiences.

But have we considered that the NEW itself may become a proving ground?

Let me explain.

In the military, when a new missile is developed, it isn't simply launched over Los Angeles or New York to see whether it works. It is taken to a designated proving ground. There, its capabilities, accuracy, performance, and reliability are tested.

Why? Because something new must be tested under conditions where its capabilities can be demonstrated.

Now let's bring that thought into our spiritual understanding.

Isaiah 43:18–19 says:

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

Notice that God first addresses the old before announcing the new.

There is an OLD, and there is a NEW.

The old is familiar. You have seen it, heard about it, and experienced it. You have a history with it. You know how it works because you have been there before.

But the new is different.

NEW MEANS YOU HAVE NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH IT!

You haven't seen it. You haven't heard about it. You have no personal history to use as a reference.

And that is why the new becomes a proving ground.

THE OLD IS YOUR HISTORY

Sometimes we become so comfortable with what we know that we expect everything God does to resemble something He has already done.

We want new territory, but we want familiar conditions. We want a new assignment, but we want to use the same old measurements.

But God says, "Behold, I will do a new thing!"

He doesn't promise to repeat the former experience. He announces something they have not yet encountered.

Think about Abraham in Genesis 22.

Abraham had experienced God's promise through Isaac. But when God tested him, Abraham entered unfamiliar territory.

He had never faced that particular situation before. His faith was now being demonstrated under circumstances he had never experienced.

James 1:3 reminds us that the trying of our faith works patience.

Sometimes what we say we believe must be demonstrated in an environment we have never encountered.

THE RESTRICTION IS NOT THE NEW

Let's not confuse the restriction with the new thing.

The restriction is familiar. You know what it feels like to be limited. You know what it feels like when access is denied or movement is interrupted.

But that is not what God announced.

He said He would do a NEW thing.

The restriction is something you already recognize. The new is something you have yet to experience.

And just because you have never experienced it doesn't mean God hasn't prepared it.

THE NEW HAS DIFFERENT TERRAIN

Look at the language God uses in Isaiah 43:19.

He speaks about making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Why a wilderness? Because there is no established road.

Why a desert? Because water is not what you ordinarily expect to find.

God is describing an environment where the familiar expectations no longer apply.

You cannot navigate every wilderness using the directions you learned in the city.

You cannot measure every new experience by what happened in the old one.

The environment has changed, and you must be willing to recognize what God is introducing.

CLOSING: WELCOME TO THE PROVING GROUNDS!

I want you to understand this: The new is not necessarily going to feel familiar. It may challenge what you know. It may require you to exercise faith differently. It may expose areas where you still depend too heavily on your previous experiences.

But don't run back to the old simply because you understand it.

The old is your history. The new is unfamiliar territory.

The restriction is not the new. The new is where your faith encounters circumstances it has never encountered before.

And remember, Abraham did not know how the mountain experience would end, but he knew the God who had called him up the mountain.

That is the difference between trusting your experience and trusting God.

You may not know the terrain, but you can know the One leading you.

You may not have seen what is coming, but you can trust the One who announced it.

So when God says, "Behold, I will do a new thing," don't just look for something new to happen.

Prepare yourself to enter unfamiliar territory.

THE OLD IS WHAT YOU KNOW. THE NEW IS WHERE YOUR FAITH IS PROVEN.

WELCOME TO THE PROVING GROUNDS!

Amen.