Make straight the pathway

Week 27

Left to our own devices we try and try to find a way to God. The Hebrew people were given laws to live by and they created even more laws trying to attain perfection. It is impossible to reach God this way. He knew that we couldn’t do it, but he also knew that we would try. How sad for us. No matter what we do, we are still outside of heaven. 

God revealed this to the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Christ was born. Isaiah tried to tell the Jewish people that God was going to take care of the sin problem they had. In Isaiah 40:3-5 we read about one who was coming before Christ to herald his arrival. A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” John the Baptist was the herald sent by God to be the voice of one calling. He was calling people to repentance. He was preparing the way of the Lord.

Jesus explained this to John’s disciples when John was in prison and wanted to know if Jesus was indeed the one who was to come, the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. Read Matthew 11:2-10.

John the Baptist was a relative of Jesus he was born just a few months before Jesus and was filled with the Spirit of God. He knew the scripture from Isaiah and was looking for the Messiah that was promised. Imagine his joy and how humbled he must have been knowing that God was going to use him to announce the arrival of Christ. He was trying to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people to receive what Jesus was going to give them. 

I believe that the Spirit of God convicts people of sin and most certainly when John preached in the wilderness people were drawn to him and the message of repentance that he preached made their hearts sad. They knew they had a sin problem and were seeking an answer. They knew that the yearly sacrifices were not removing the sin. They knew that the religious leaders did not have any answers for them. They were hungry for God.

What exactly was this highway for God? How could valleys be raised up? Mountains and hills made low? How could the coming of the Messiah make the rough ground level and the rugged places a plain?

The Jewish laws were like a continual maze for the people. There was no way out, at least none that they could see. All through the old Testament God tried to prepare the Jewish people for what he was going to do. In Proverbs we see this clearly spelled out several times. Proverbs 3:5-6 we hear these words, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” In Proverbs 4:11 God told the people, “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” In verses 25-27 they were reminded to, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left, keep your foot from evil.”

The answer was coming if they would trust God, if they would continue to focus on him, if they would do the things that they knew to do. It is no different for us today. Our answer comes from God when we trust him and focus on him. When we are obedient to the things that we know he wants us to do. He will reveal his salvation to us.

Faith can move mountains. Jesus told us so. The mountains that seem to overwhelm us because they are so enormous are nothing to Jesus. From God’s perspective they are small. Jesus came to remove those barriers from our lives that would keep us from moving forward. All we have to do is believe. 

In Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus explained to his disciples about how he had been able to make the fig tree wither. “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

When my husband’s pay was cut by 28 percent in January 2000, we knew that we had some difficult decisions to make. We could not afford to stay in the area of the country where we were because the cost of living was so high. After praying about the situation, we chose to move back to Ohio. We did not have jobs waiting for us, we didn’t know what awaited us, but we knew God. He was a God of provision and had proved that to us many times before. At that point in time we were living in faith completely. 

Psalm 46:1-3 is a promise that is tried and true. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” 

God wants us to come to him and he has made the pathway easy by coming to earth himself, as Jesus the Christ. He himself laid low every mountain and hill. He is the one who makes the crooked pathways straight. 

In Psalm 90:2 we see that God was God before the mountains were born. If he made the mountains then I guess he can do away with them as well. If we would just get hold of that truth and hang onto it. We could all be like John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord. 

We are supposed to prepare the way of the Lord because he is coming back as a conquering king and he wants to rescue everyone from the enemy. How can we preach repentance like John did? The way has been made straight for everyone who accepts Christ. The same Holy Spirit that lived in John the Baptist is living in each true believer of Christ. It is that Spirit that convicts and convinces people of their sin. It is that Spirit that causes people to repent. 

It is up to believers to let the Spirit of God lead them. God wants to direct our paths. He knows where we should go and who we should speak to. He wants to reign in our lives. Why don’t we let him? What is the fear? Are we afraid that we will end up like John the Baptist?  It is a possibility, but really, how many people do you know who die trying to tell others that the kingdom of God is near? What keeps us from sharing the good news? 

Listen to these words in 1 Peter 3:13-15a “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

As believers we do have an undying hope. Christ has made straight the pathway to our heavenly Father. He has provided us with all we need to hear from God and to obey him. If you have never let the Holy Spirit speak to you now is the time. It isn’t easy turning over control of your life to God. We all like to think that we are in control of our own lives. But I can assure you that letting God rule in your life is the way to become all that God created you to be. He wants only what is best for you and he wants you to ask his help along the straight path. 

Holy God, 

You have made it so easy to find you. There are no obstacles in the way except ourselves. Today we lay our lives before your throne and we invite your Holy Spirit that is living in us, to speak your truth to us. Let us see one answer to prayer today. Give us one revelation of who you are and what you have planned for us. We trust you to remove mountains in our lives that have been keeping us from seeing you. We give you praise for you are worthy of praise. We thank you for Christ. Amen.