Winter 1996
Behold I Will Do a New Thing
Dr Richard Forde

"Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring
forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way
in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" Isa 43:19.

This begins when our spirit bursts forth into full bloom with a new effulgence of His presence and desire toward us.

It is when the awareness of this love of our Lord Jesus for us permeates our very being, when the abiding of His presence no longer has to be "practiced" but becomes a constant reality.

It is when the up springing of His grace becomes as a fountain flowing at full strength, not as the tide which ebbs and then rushes in. It is where He gives us songs in the night, and even our dreams are reminders of Him.

It is the adjusting of our time to spend hours alone with Him, with the jealous guarding of the precious things He whispers into our ear.

It is the sound of His voice, and the hitherto unknown fragrance of His garments as a result of our close contact with Him - even the perfume of the frankincense, myrrh, and cassia, mingled with the bitter aloes of suffering; a joyous willingness to know the fellowship of His sufferings, where even pain is joy.

It is the forward urge of the gifts which He has placed within us; that they might come forth in their full strength and effectiveness, yet in complete rest in His presence with full knowledge of His guidance.

It is realization that "the preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord" (Prov 16:1). For our ear is ever keen, listening should He say, "Who will go?" And our tongue prepared to answer, "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8).

Have you gone through the fiery furnace of a Job experience? If so, wonder not. It is but His way of preparation for the anointing upon your words and the enlarging of your spiritual vision. Rest in full confidence in Him, for He knows how hot the fires must be to consume the dross and refine the gold.

Even now, the reality of this level of relationship is unfolding before us. Therefore, we must quickly put down our umbrellas - those things that hinder the outpouring of the Holy Spirit falling upon us and open our vessels toward heaven that we might receive the overflow. "For ... the great rain of His strength" is at hand (Job 37:6).

This "new thing" speaks of our final preparation in becoming His Bride, that we might enter the marriage banquet, leaning upon the arm of our Heavenly Bridegroom.

"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" Rev 19:9.