See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:19
Sometimes, our spiritual blindness is a choice, not a condition. We miss God’s work not because He’s inactive but because we’re inattentive. Like someone staring at their phone while walking through a sunset, we’re often too preoccupied with our narratives to notice divine interventions unfolding around us.
The Hebrew word for “perceive” (yada) in Isaiah 43:19 demands more than casual observation. It calls for intentional recognition, intimate knowing, and active participation in what God is doing. When God asks, “Do you not perceive it?” He’s challenging His people to wake up from their spiritual slumber and engage with His movement in real time.
God’s question to Israel pierces through centuries to confront us today. While we pray for God to move, He’s already moving. While we wait for signs, wonders are unfolding. While we ask for direction, divine paths are carved right before our eyes. The issue isn’t God’s activity – it’s our awareness.
Consider how many burning bushes we’ve walked past while checking our spiritual phones. Moses wasn’t the only one in a desert with access to divine encounters. But he was the one who turned aside to see. What makes us think our busy lives justify missing God’s revelations any more than he did?
The tragedy of spiritual dullness is that it’s often gradual. Like the frog in slowly heating water, we don’t realize how desensitized we’ve become to God’s presence and activity. We mistake familiar religious routines for genuine spiritual awareness, comfort for connection, and busyness for purpose.
“Sometimes God’s direction in our lives comes through a gentle whisper, and if we’re not paying attention, we might miss His grandest movements” – A.W. Tozer, from his book “The Pursuit of God” (1948). As one of Christianity’s most profound thinkers and writers on spiritual perception, Tozer’s observation cuts to the heart of our struggle to recognize God’s activity. His words remind us that God’s new work often begins subtly, requiring us to be sensitive to the Spirit’s gentle promptings rather than expecting dramatic demonstrations.
Breaking free from spiritual dullness requires radical honesty. Are we truly seeking God’s new work or just looking for Him to bless our old patterns? Are we willing to have our comfortable religious routines disrupted by fresh divine initiatives? Are we ready for God to surprise us?
The cost of missing God’s new thing is more than missed blessings. It’s missed purpose, growth, and opportunities to partner with divine destiny. Every time we fail to perceive His work, we risk becoming spectators in our own spiritual journey rather than active participants in God’s unfolding story.
The good news is that spiritual perception can be developed. Like a muscle, our ability to recognize God’s work grows stronger with intentional exercise. It starts with slowing down, looking up, and training our spiritual senses to detect divine fingerprints in the extraordinary and the ordinary.
Beloved Godseekers, it’s time to sharpen your spiritual vision. God is already at work around you, crafting new paths, opening new doors, and orchestrating divine appointments. Don’t let spiritual dullness rob you of the adventure of perceiving and participating in His new thing.
Prayer
Lord, open our eyes to see Your work unfolding around us. Forgive our spiritual dullness and awaken our hearts to recognize Your movement. Make us sensitive to Your Spirit and bold enough to participate in Your new thing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- What habits or distractions might prevent you from perceiving God’s work in your life?
- Where have you possibly missed God’s new thing because you were looking for Him to work in old ways?
Step of Faith
Today, set aside three specific times to stop and intentionally look for God’s work around you. Write down what you notice and how it might be part of His “new thing” in your life. Share your observations with someone who can encourage your spiritual perception.
