Isaiah 43:19 English Standard Version (ESV) Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

God is doing a new thing. We are often told this is one thing, Faith in Christ replacing obeying the law for righteousness. If we accept that definition of “a new thing” we might miss that new instructions can come at any time for any reason that God might choose. 

We are sojourners in this world, meaning we move about constantly in the world and if we wander aimlessly we will end up lost to God’s will for us. Remain lost to God’s will long enough and we will find ourselves in a dry place.

Some of us have a long history of experience in walking with the Lord. What God has done in us and for us leaves us with a sense of God’s graces and provisions. If we get the opportunity to walk with the Lord long enough we get to experience new adventures, new responsibilities, new fellowships, and times of rest from our journeys. Rest does not mean we should get “settled in our lees.”

Jeremiah 48:11 King James Version (KJV) Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

Less are the sediments in the bottom of a wine flask and only increases if pouring more and more new wine into an old flask. “His taste remained in him” is like us relying on our experiences to determine God’s will. We lose the scent of God’s leading and can only sense ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:16 English Standard Version (ESV) So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Our inner self is emptied every day in order to remove the sediments that place our vessel at risk of losing the scent of the Holy Spirit in instructing us where to go and what to do today. The mind holds onto the memory of past experiences and if we rely on that rather than sensing what the Spirit is doing, we go astray.

1 Corinthians 15:30-31 English Standard Version

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

Paul calls it pride in others, which is what he has in Christ. This is not pride of self. We might look at it in the same way we have pride in our children, but is that what the Spirit tells us?

The outline usage of “pride in you” leads us to boasting of something that they had that Paul had in Christ. If we look at what we have in common in Christ, it is the Spirit of truth, working in us to serve God’s will. Paul is saying in a very human way, “I see Christ in you.”

Every now and then, but not always, we might see the glory of God shining on the face of another. It is not an eye of flesh but seeing with spiritual insight. If seen in a stranger, it is an opportunity to join in fellowship or if seen in those we already know to strengthen our bond in fellowship.

So what does Paul preface this comment with a warning of danger “every hour”?

Back in 15:15 Paul warns “We are even found to be misrepresenting God.” That is a serious warning that must be considered even when we recognize Christ in others. The presence of the Spirit of truth does not tell us in and by itself what the Spirit has done for that individual. It does not mean they are ahead or behind us in maturity or personal knowledge of Christ.

Paul’s expression of dying daily places him in a position of a willingness to allow the Spirit of truth to take the lead. Obedience of faith may require us to ignore what we have already learned and processed in order to receive instructions on what to do in the moment that satisfies God’s will.

Experience can easily say to us “it worked before, so let’s try that again”. Circumstances change daily if not hourly. Relying on the past may not fit the needs of God in the moment.

The difference is confidence in Christ vs confidence in experience.