Change: Nothing to Fear and Everything to Embrace
Isaiah 43:18-19 - "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland".
When traveling out west, my husband has an uncanny ability to spot the “old road” alongside a newer highway.
I love when he tells the story of his family moving from California to Michigan. He was just four years old, riding in a four-door 1955 turquoise Cadillac (ironically, that car is now buried beneath our local airport—but that’s another story), packed in with his parents and three siblings—no seatbelts— as they raced across Route 66. Recently, we stopped in Winslow, Arizona, to snap the classic tourist photo on the corner.
Whenever we find these “old roads,” we like to imagine what it must have been like to travel them decades ago—in the 1950s, in a Model T, or even on horseback before the road existed at all.
This spring in Utah, we camped on a mountaintop just outside of Zion National Park. As we often do after setting up camp, we set out to explore the trails and surrounding roads. And of course, my husband found one: Old Highway 89A. As we walked along the abandoned stretch, we examined the cracked, fading pavement, imagined the vehicles that once traveled it, and took in the quiet of what used to be.
While exploring, I couldn’t help but wonder: “Why did they create a new 89A? What was wrong with the original road? After all, the new highway runs parallel to the old one.”
And then I stopped and heard the quiet whispered question: “What if you never changed?”
What if you stayed the same from day to day, year to year and never made improvement”?
Just like Old Highway 89A, we, too, need an upgrade from time to time. Old paths can become worn, comfortable, and difficult to leave behind. Change can feel unsettling, even intimidating, if we’re not willing to embrace what is new. Yet isn’t change integral to the sometimes challenging, yet incredible, adventure of following God? I recently came across this quote: “Just because you can’t imagine a happy ending doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”
That feels so true. But when we resist change, fear can quietly keep us from stepping into what God has for us.
Old Highway 89A itself tells a story. It is a 91.7-mile scenic and historic route connecting Bitter Springs, Arizona, to Kanab, Utah. Known for its breathtaking cliffs and vibrant landscapes, it was originally part of U.S. Route 89, established in 1926. But when the Glen Canyon Dam was built, the main route was relocated, leaving this stretch as an “alternate” highway.
What once was primary became secondary.
And that brings us to the book of Isaiah.
In Isaiah 43:18–19, the prophet records these words: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” At the time, the Israelites were living in exile. The “former things” referred not only to their past failures and sins, but even to the miracles they had witnessed. God was calling them not to live anchored in the past, but to look ahead with expectation.
He was doing something new.
Verse 19 continues, “Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” This was a message of hope; God’s deliverance was not distant, it was unfolding. He was actively working, even when it wasn’t fully visible.
That same theme carries into the New Testament. In Philippians 3:13–14, Paul writes, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…” Paul describes the Christian life as a race—one that requires forward movement, focus, and trust in God’s ongoing work of transformation.
Change, then, is not something to fear—it is often where growth begins.
In seasons of transition, we are invited to draw closer to God and step more fully into the purpose He has prepared for us.
While everything around us may shift, God does not. He remains steady and faithful, guiding us through every unexpected turn.
The Author of our lives already knows the story He is writing. Change and transition are part of His greater narrative. But we won’t experience the fullness of that story if we refuse to take a new road.
He is weaving every twist and turn together for our good.
And the most comforting truth of all? While our circumstances change, the Author never does.
As missionary, author, and speaker Elisabeth Elliot once said, “God’s story never ends with ashes.”
So yes, Old Highway 89A is still there—still visible, still passable. But it is no longer the main road.
In the same way, we can be grateful for the past that shaped us, without remaining stuck there. God is inviting us forward—into something new.
Even if we can’t yet see where the road leads.
