A Voice In The Wilderness

Isaiah 40:1-5

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” (Isaiah 40:3)

JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS uniquely called and positioned in history to be a voice in a literal wilderness that prepared the way for the coming of the Lord. His ministry fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah—at least for Christ’s first coming to earth. But twelfth-century abbot Bernard of Clairvaux famously preached that Christ has three kinds of comings: his incarnation, when he was born in Bethlehem; his return at the culmination of the age; and in between, a more hidden coming into the human spirit by faith. That coming happens again and again as each human heart repents and declares him as their Savior.

Whose voices are preparing the way for those intermediate comings? Ours. Every believer is called to prepare the way for the Lord, to make straight places in the wildernesses of human societies, to raise up valleys and level out mountains so hungry hearts can find him in the midst of a rugged environment. That means you have a specific calling and anointing to speak against the things that hinder faith, to move mountains and obstacles, to reveal the glory of the Lord for those who will see it. And like the original voice in the wilderness, you may have to go against the grain of your culture to do it.

There are honorable and respectful ways to do that. It’s true that the gospel is a stumbling block, but we can help people regain their balance without compromising the message. We are to clear the way, to make the highway straight, to shine a spotlight on the beauty of God’s mercies, and even to demonstrate them in our own lives. We are to avoid unnecessary offenses and lavish God’s goodness on those who don’t deserve it, as he did with us. When we do, streams of living water flow through the rugged deserts of this world, pathways become straight and clear, and hearts open up to the Kingdom of God. The same Jesus who came, and who promised to come again one day, will come again and again through us and into the lives around us.

{Jesus, how can I prepare the way for you today? How can I prepare hearts to be reconciled with you? How can I demonstrate your mercies? Show me. Give me opportunities. And make my voice a stream and a highway that leads to life. Amen.