After watching the rise of the threatening Assyrian Empire and the painful decline of Israel, Isaiah proclaims comfort for God’s people. Here’s how it will be introduced:
“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” (Isaiah 40:3-5). These words were quoted again in the New Testament as an introduction to John the Baptist, who was introducing Jesus Christ.
As Anita and I drove south for our vacation to Florida, we passed through the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. In so many places along the Interstate route we could observe places where hills and mountains had been cleared away and filled in valleys with the debris, so our ride up and down over those mountains became rather smooth.
That’s exactly what Jesus does in our lives. He is constantly eroding away at what doesn’t belong and developing in us what is godly. He never ceases. But, He needs our participation in this leveling of our rocky lives. We live in a desert place. Let’s find comfort right here.
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