Paving the Way

 

Who am I?

I’m awake, it is early, and my love has gone to work on this sultry summer morning. I am contemplating my options for occupying my time before he comes home later this afternoon. As is common, my heart longs for a wooded path…

Immediately, upon pondering a quick trip to a local trail that I’ve dreamed of tackling lately, the Lord brings to my mind a message. He began whispering this in my ear a few days ago, a drop here and a drop there. Now His words flow into my spirit like a cool stream. As the stream reaches reservoirs of revelation, with nowhere else to go, the message must spill out to make room for more.

This is why I write, that those drops spilling over the edge of my own understanding will nourish His flow into you.

For some time now, I’ve embraced the comparison of a hiking trail or path to my Christian walk. The Lord has spoken volumes to me in this way, and He continues to do so. I receive refreshment with every step of my own journey.

Today, something is different.

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

 -Isaiah 40:1-5

The focus is no longer on MY path, MY walk, MY journey. Now, He speaks to me about HIS purpose for me on this path.

We expect Him to direct our ways, and He does. We expect Him to remove obstacles, and He does. We expect Him to be there to hold onto when the path is slippery, and He is. We expect that, should we stumble, He will catch us before we fall, and He does.

What does He expect from us, Christians, His children? What is our instruction in this worldly wilderness?

Who are we?

 ^“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

We are the voice crying in the wilderness.

We are to make HIS path straight, and smooth the roughness from it. We are walking the path with the purpose of paving the way for the return of Jesus. WE are charged with removing stumbling blocks.

For far too long, the body of God’s children, His church, has done more to place obstacles on the path than to remove them. We have littered the way with things like indifference and ego, pride and jealousy. Is this making straight the way for the Lord?

Of course, He doesn’t stumble. He doesn’t need us to catch Him, but He desires to fulfill divine purpose in us and thru us.

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

Our target on the trail is to remove those things that threaten to obstruct others from His revealed glory. We are to pave the path with the only material that is capable of withstanding the weather of the world, and that is love.

With every step taken on our own personal journeys, let us be mindful of our mission as His beloved chosen ones. Let us leave clear paths of love in the wake our footfalls.

It is time to allow purpose to impose on our adventure.

Be blessed!

Now, for that trail…