PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD

“PREPARE THE WAY of THE LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God” – Isaiah 40:3b

Our choice in life’s journey is either to have our way or PREPARE THE WAY of THE LORD: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa.40: 3-5).

This passage begins the second portion of the Book of Isaiah, which has as its main theme the salvation and future blessing of God’s people. It was addressed to aa nation in exile. In the midst of national tragedy, the prophet spoke of Hope. In the light of the New Testament, the text defines the ministry of John the Baptist as the forerunner of our Lord. He was the voice in the wilderness exhorting the people to be ready, to prepare themselves morally and spiritually to receive the Messiah. He declared that the Messiah’s ministry would not only be one of reconciliation, but also one of Divine Reconstruction. There would be a highway, built in human hearts, on which the Lord would travel.

Four steps would be involved, similar to the process of massive highway construction or reconstruction, namely:

• Every valley shall be exalted or raised up;
• Every mountain and hill made low;
• The rough ground or crooked places shall be made straight or become level;
• The rugged places shall be made smooth or become a plain.

In this beautiful symbolic language the prophet what saying that this is what God undertakes when He comes into our lives. When we have received His forgiveness, the next step is that He begins to transform us, to reconstruct our lives. Every valley shall be filled. In the low places of life, the discouraging times when we feel crushed and defeated, there will be comfort and encouragement from the Lord. Every mountain and hill shall be made low. All the places in our lives where our ego and pride are prominent – our proud boasts, inordinate ambition, and grasping for power – must be cut down as we are humbled in many ways. The rugged places of crookedness and deviousness are made a plain, like Zacchaeus paying back fourfold all the proceeds of corruption stolen from people. Honesty and Integrity replace deception, lying, and stealing.

Although Isaiah 40 is primarily focused on the Messiah’s advent, it applies secondarily to how Believers must prepare a straight path for the Lord in our hearts and lives, removing all obstacles standing in the way of His manifestation to us and through us. All the crooked ways in and around our lives must be reconstructed. Every rebellious attitude must be brought low and every valley be lifted up. Verses 6-8 give a word of reassurance: All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. All the great things we boast about will fade away and disappear. All human knowledge and power will amount to nothing. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them; but the Word of our God endures forever. Human help will fail and our natural strength will never accomplish the best of our desires!

Like Israel of old, the Church has always believed that Jesus will come again, always praying “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev.22:17, 20). We do not simply think of a Lord who came two thousand years ago or a Lord who will come at the end of history. We await Him who comes continuously into His world, among His people. God is at work in our lives, filling up valleys, lowering mountains, making the crooked places straight and the rugged places plain in order to reveal His Glory (v.5). He wants us to stay pliable in His hands as He shapes us into the persons He wants us to be, WALKING in the WAY!