"He is a voice shouting in the wilderness; Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills! Straighten the curves and smooth out the rough places! And then all people will see the salvation sent from God." Luke 3:4-6
This was spoken from the Prophet Isaiah (if you want to read it is Isaiah 40:3)
My question for you today is what kind of pathway are you preparing?
1. "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness"- Are you using your voice to shout the name of Jesus to the world, or are you keeping it quiet, afraid to stand out!
How do we prepare others for Jesus if we never spread His word?
2. "Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming!"- Clean up the junk make room for Jesus to take up residence in your heart and let Him who is the light lead you as He provides light in this world full of darkness. As you prepare the pathway for Jesus understand that with every step He will guide you and go before you directing you. How do you make a pathway for the Lord? The same way John the Baptist did, he waited upon the Lord before he did anything, he kept himself available, and kept his eyes focused on God, and understood his dependence for God. He went, spoke the truth (Word of God), allowed the Holy Spirit to work, and led others to the light (Jesus), by showing them that they too need to depend fully on the one and only one that would save them from death. Jesus we praise You for Your Word. Thank You that through this amazing bread of life we have the guidance to come to know You and be led by You, so that we can have life and have it abundantly. Jesus that we would desire to be in your word everyday!
3. 'Make a straight road for Him'- Are you creating a straight path for the Lord, by the way you are living, or are you making side roads by allowing your sinful nature to take control. Strap on the blinders, keep your eyes focused on Jesus, and allow the Word of God to take root in your heart and He will make your paths straight. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord, than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8 Do you trust more in man to get you to your destination than you do Jesus? Are you following the path or making a path prepared by man or self? It will lead to destruction! Trust in Jesus and the Spirit that He has placed within you to lead you to the destination of ETERNITY! Remember “Thy word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” Praise You Jesus, Your word fills me with so much excitement and joy that my cup truly runth over.
4. "Fill in the Valleys"- Do you have tons of valleys (holes) in your road from sin? Let's fill them in today! Jesus says, "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1John 1:9. When we confess each sin, by name, and repent from them Jesus then begins to fill in the valleys. As you prepare the pathway for Jesus, come to Him today and confess the sin you are holding onto. Jesus deserves nothing but the red carpet, the best road that can be made. So fill in the potholes.
5. "Level the mountains and hills"- How do you level something, you make it even on all sides. We all have ups and downs in our life because of sin that entered the world and because of the choices we have made. But did you know that even through the ups and downs, our focus, our obedience, our faithfulness, our daily time with the Lord should be the same through it all. It should be continual; His name should be praised and glorified through it all. Don't let the mountains and hills get so big that you can't get them level, or that they consume you. Don’t let them control you, thus taking precedence over Jesus? Do you get angry and turn away from the Lord during hard times? Please understand that we serve a God that is the same, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. It is sin and our choice that brings disease, hate, hurt, anger, self, etc. But our Savior, He is there through every bit of it, never leaving us. There is nothing that the world or sin can do to our souls. Would you rejoice in Jesus the Savior today, and praise Him that even though you are going through a disease, hurt, loss, whatever mountain or hill, praise Him for being there with you every step of the way.
6. "Straighten the curves"- Remember the sinful nature that veered you off of the straight? That is a curve, and we need to straighten it out before it leads to even more curves. What is it that is enticing you, the feel good, self, the enjoyment of the world? Only you and the Lord know what sin you struggle with, what is it that causes you to veer? Seek the One that can get you back on the straight, lay at His feet and let Him remove it. Believe in your heart that He will and watch as He so softly, lovingly, and gently leads you back on the straight road and removes the curve. You know the ruts on the side of the road that make a loud noise if you get onto the shoulder, those are warnings, and Jesus gives us the same warning and loud noise when we let sin creep up, it is called conviction, when you start to veer off let the uneasiness, the unsettling feeling you feel inside from the Holy Spirit be your warning to get back on His path.
7."Smooth out the rough places"- Those ruts from above, those are rough and loud. Let Jesus and His Word embed within you and come and smooth out the rough places. His
Word provides softness, understanding, and wisdom, all of which are the very tools needed to smooth out the roughness. Get rid of the bumps, remove the rocks of sin and smooth it out with God's word.
"Then all people will see the salvation sent from God" Jesus is salvation and today is the day! Let your path, your walk, your talk be all about the Lord and for the Lord for all to see His greatness, His glory, His love, mercy and grace. What joy when one comes to know the Lord. What joy, what songs of praise the angels sing when one's eyes are open to see the light that came to give them life.
Let your path today be a new path that prepares others for the return of Christ.
Jesus, thank you for giving us the most unbelievable gift, the gift of life with You forever. Lord come in and take over so that as we prepare for Your return others will come to know You. Thank You for Your precious Word that is alive and well. Lord ignite a fire inside of us to go and spread Your Word and to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of You. May You be so pleased and glorified as we shout Your name in the wilderness, and in the path we prepare for You. Amen!
