“The voice of him who cries out, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rough places a plain; then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it” (Is. 40:3-5).
In the Gospel of John, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to talk to John the Baptist. When asked if he was the promised Messiah, John the Baptist simply answered “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.'”
John’s ministry, in a nutshell, was simple. He wasn’t building his own ministry; he was simply setting the stage for someone greater, preparing the way for the coming Messiah. His response echoed the words of Isaiah calling in the wilderness for a highway to be made for the Lord.
In those days, whenever a king would go out from his seat of power, servants would go before him and prepare the way for his coming. They would remove any rough patches along the road that might cause poor traveling. Essentially, they smoothed out the path so that their king could travel in ease and comfort.
Now back to us in the 21st century. Though we don’t have kings wanting to physically travel from city to city, we do have a King who wants to come down and visit His people. Are we doing everything we can to make it as easy as possible for God? Do our lifestyles help or hinder His visitation?
It’s time that we as Christians seriously evaluate our own actions and decide to prepare the way for our God to come down. Make straight the highways, raise every low place in our lives and bring down everything that seeks to exalt itself. When we do that, what does God promise in return?
“Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it” (Is. 40:5).
David Belich is a guest blogger for Highways Ministries.
