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.
(Isaiah 40:3, 4)
(Isaiah 40:3, 4)
When it comes to running, I’m a flat-lander if there ever was one—a
bona fide “hill wimp.” Mentally and physically, hills wear me out. What some
might dismiss as a slight grade, I curse as a steep climb. Good thing I live in
central Ohio.
We have a natural inclination to reach God by our own route in our own strength, don’t we? We strain to scale the steepest of hills by our own efforts, only to sink into valleys of despair and doubt. The distance is immeasurable; the terrain is impossible. “Rugged” doesn't even begin to describe this run.
Isaiah foretold a day when the distance between God and humankind would be closed, but it would be God’s doing, not ours. He would come to us on a highway made straight, over valleys raised up, hills made low, and rough ground leveled. It happened, He has visited us; the prophecy is fulfilled.
In the process, God established for us a highway, “the Way of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8), which we travel to Him. This “Way” has a name, Jesus, the One who proclaimed Himself to be “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). In Christ, there are no hills of self-righteous toil, and we need not despair our shortcomings, for He has reconciled us to God. So we run the path of His leveling; we traverse the gap of His closing; we stride the route of His relief. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned . . .” (Isaiah 40:1 ESV)
“Comfort, comfort” is good news to people who know no alternative to the torturous trails of toil. Truth is, the world is full of hill-climbers—gasping for breath, clutching cramped sides, and longing to run like flat-landers on the leveled Way of Holiness. So we call out to those still struggling down these impassible roads, “‘Here is your God!’ (Isaiah 40:9). In Him, and Him alone, I have found comfort. So can you. Come, and run with me.”
Father, give me a heart for those who still long to run the Way of Holiness. Give me the words to speak to them and the deeds to perform for them. And be glorified in those who discover everlasting comfort in your Son. In His name I pray.
[See today's Scripture in Isaiah:40:1-11.]
We have a natural inclination to reach God by our own route in our own strength, don’t we? We strain to scale the steepest of hills by our own efforts, only to sink into valleys of despair and doubt. The distance is immeasurable; the terrain is impossible. “Rugged” doesn't even begin to describe this run.
Isaiah foretold a day when the distance between God and humankind would be closed, but it would be God’s doing, not ours. He would come to us on a highway made straight, over valleys raised up, hills made low, and rough ground leveled. It happened, He has visited us; the prophecy is fulfilled.
In the process, God established for us a highway, “the Way of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8), which we travel to Him. This “Way” has a name, Jesus, the One who proclaimed Himself to be “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). In Christ, there are no hills of self-righteous toil, and we need not despair our shortcomings, for He has reconciled us to God. So we run the path of His leveling; we traverse the gap of His closing; we stride the route of His relief. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned . . .” (Isaiah 40:1 ESV)
“Comfort, comfort” is good news to people who know no alternative to the torturous trails of toil. Truth is, the world is full of hill-climbers—gasping for breath, clutching cramped sides, and longing to run like flat-landers on the leveled Way of Holiness. So we call out to those still struggling down these impassible roads, “‘Here is your God!’ (Isaiah 40:9). In Him, and Him alone, I have found comfort. So can you. Come, and run with me.”
Father, give me a heart for those who still long to run the Way of Holiness. Give me the words to speak to them and the deeds to perform for them. And be glorified in those who discover everlasting comfort in your Son. In His name I pray.
[See today's Scripture in Isaiah:40:1-11.]
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