5th Sunday of Lent - First Reading - Isaiah 43:16–21 - God does a new thing. A path in the sea and rivers in the wasteland.

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2. 16 Thus says the LORD, who
opens a way in the sea and
a path in the mighty waters,
17 Who leads out chariots and
horsemen, a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate
together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched
like a wick.
18 Remember not the events
of the past, the things of
long ago consider not;

19 See, I am doing something
new! Now it springs forth, do
you not perceive it? In the
desert I make a way, in the
wasteland, rivers.
20 Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches, For I
put water in the desert and
rivers in the wasteland for
my chosen people to drink,
21 The people whom I formed
for myself, that they might
announce my praise.

3. The Israelites were trapped by
the Egyptians on one side and
the Red Sea on the other.
The Lord parted the waters of the
Red Sea and allowed them to
cross and thus saved his
people from slavery and led
them to freedom (Exodus 14).
The Lord is reminding his people
that even the forces of nature
present no challenge for Him
or His plan for salvation.
“Remember not the events of the
past, the things of long ago
consider not (v. 18).
God is not going to concentrate on
your past problems and failures if
you are wise enough to ask his
forgiveness.
Satan is the one who wants you to
look backward and thus relive
your faults and failures and
encourage you to repeat them.
God is always looking forward in
the hope of our future salvation.