God’s Preposterous Promise – Devo Series #4 of 7
- On Our Way Back to God
- The Promise of Restoration
- God’s Promise to Comfort
- Prepare the Way of the Lord
- God Sings Over Us
- The Hope of God With us
- Trusting God’s Plans and Ways
- Get Ready for the Lord’s Coming
Prepare the Way of the Lord
Scripture: Isaiah 40:3-5; Mark 1:1-5
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ Click here for the entire passage.
Preparing the way… The Transcontinental Railroad was a particularly large feat for America. It strained the resources of this young country, which was built during The Civil War. A path needed to be forged across mainly unknown lands. Over 10,000 Chinese immigrants did the hard work of preparing rail beds, laying tracks, digging tunnels, and constructing bridges. Workers used chisels and hammers to blast away the rock. All types of landscapes brought different challenges; desert heat in some places; other places had mountainous terrain and winter storms. This is just a quick peek into all that the workers faced as they prepared the way for the railroad.
Isaiah Prophesied, “Prepare…”
In Isaiah’s day, when a king was coming, the road would be prepared so there would be no obstacle in the way of the king. It would be easy and safe for the king to arrive. Much work was involved in preparing the way. Terrain and weather both brought many challenges to building a road. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah King was coming, and the way needed to be prepared. He prophesied about John the Baptist who would prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. Ultimately, it was not a road that needed to be prepared but people’s hearts. Their hearts needed to be ready for the Kingdom of Heaven.
John the Baptist proclaimed, “Prepare the Way…”
John the Baptist called out to the people to repent and to turn from their sins and to be baptized as a sign of their repentance. This created an environment for Jesus to enter this world and preach His message of the Kingdom of Heaven. He had a new message that the world would not like, but John prepared many hearts to be open to that message.
Are you preparing the way of the Lord in your own heart?
Points to Ponder
- Just as the transcontinental railway was prepared from both ends that met in the middle, God and man have a part to do. God did the work of salvation and His Spirit woos us towards Him, but we must open our hearts to Him and make room for Him. How do we open our hearts for Jesus? (1 John 1:7-9, Proverbs 28:13)
- Hebrews 12:14 tells us that “without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” If there is sin in our lives, God cannot come in but if we repent of our sins and turn to him and away from our sin, we will be cleansed and the Lord can then enter in. (1 John 1:9)
- How do we make room for the Holy Spirit to come? (John 14:15-17; Acts 1:14;2:1-4; Romans 8:5-10, Ephesians 4:20-32)
Prayer
Father,
May Your Spirit open our hearts to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Because of His death on the cross, we have been set free from sin; we have been renewed and redeemed. And by the grace of God, we can live victoriously. May our humility allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives not just in times of trouble, but every day as we proclaim Your Gospel.
We understand that our human abilities are limited, so we put our faith in You. We rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to move us according to Your will. Continue to transform us so that we can pattern our ways to the life of Christ. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we shall walk in You and with You for Your glory.
In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.
Published with permission. Originally written by Mandy Farmer and published at the Discipleship Place ~ Women’s Ministries at The Church of the Nazarene in November 2019
Let’s sing together…
Pastor’s Wife (retired) & Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.
