Suddenly, New, and Now

“I hear the sound of SUDDENLY in my spirit! Have faith and get ready for God to do it in an instant!” – Paula White-Cain (X social network, 05.13.25)

Isaiah 48.3 | suddenly explicitly stated

The former things I declared long ago,
they went out from my mouth and I made them known;
then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.

In the Hebrew suddenly carries the same meaning it does in English.

I listed some suddenly Scriptures last week: A Preliminary Look at “Suddenly” in the Hebrew Bible CLICK

The word-picture here is fascinating. God declares what He is going to do long before it happens. Then suddenly it happens, just like God prophesied.

I think of being a child going to Disneyland, which our family did often. We would wait and wait for the day, and then suddenly it would be over. All I knew was the anticipation because my parents carried the responsibility. They took care of the travel, the costs, the food, the plan for the day, etc. I was just along for the ride.

This is the same type of word-picture God is giving to His children Israel.

He does the same for us. His promises may have been spoken to us long ago, but He often has a suddenly up His sleeve.

Isaiah 48.4

Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,

After the beauty of Isaiah 48.3, we find Israel in a state of rebellion, unfortunately.

An iron sinew neck is like calling them stiffnecked. This is a reference to their stubbornness.

A forehead of brass is like saying they’re hardheaded. In other words, they’re dense.

This is a mystery to me. Why does God fulfill His promises even during times when His people are rebellious? Why does He do the same for us today?

Isaiah 48.5

I declared them to you from long ago,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
so that you would not say, ‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my cast image commanded them.’

The people would rather give glory to idols than to God… for fulfilling God’s Word.

Who do we idolize? Are there big names in the church world? Would we ever want to give more credit than is due to a big name Christian? Does a Rhema Word mean more to us if it comes from a big name or from a member of our church? Who do we idolize?

Isaiah 48.6 | suddenly implicitly stated

You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forward I make you hear new things,
hidden things that you have not known.

This is another beautiful verse despite the fact that the people of God are in a season of obstinacy.

In this verse and the next there is another suddenly, implicitly stated if not explicitly.

Suddenly, you will hear new things. You have not known them. They’re completely off the radar for you.

God makes promises well in advance, and then suddenly brings them to pass.

God also promises new things quickly and suddenly brings them to pass… new things.

Isaiah 48.7

They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
so that you could not say, ‘I already knew them.’

Once again, Isaiah is speaking to a specific generation of Israelites at a specific time, who are obstinate. He relays the Word of the Lord. I’m creating new things now so that you can’t say I knew it.

How familiar do we get with the things of God? Do we have it all figured out? Do we give Him room to do something suddenly, new, and now among us?

pic credit: Yoav Aziz | sun after rain | Sea of Galilee | 12.22.20 | unsplash.com