Luke 3:4-6,‘Prepare the way for the Lord,make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’
Sometimes we choose the hard way, to do things our own way, under our own strength. I can climb that mountain, we say. I’ve got this, we say. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
But it is the prideful man or woman who believes in himself, rather than believes in God.
All of us stand before some mountain in our lives: something at work or school it seems we could never overcome; some illness we lack the strength to fight; a distant spouse; a drug; a drink. When we start to walk that road alone, we realize how high the mountain really is.
But God’s plan is not for us to climb that mountain, it is to call on Him to cast it into the sea. Mark 11:22-24,
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 … whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
So, do we believe in ourselves, or in the God who made the mountains and has the power to cast them into the sea?
Friends, as Christmas approaches, we are keenly aware that Christ has come and will come again, and he desires to enter into the central places of our lives. The central idea from Luke chapter 3 is that all the obstructions must be removed… whatever is there to hinder the arrival of Christ in our lives, whether our opinions, our habits, our conduct, our laziness, our pride, our self-reliance, it’s time to set it aside and prepare yourselves; be ready.
Prepare the way for the Lord.
Photo courtesy Thomas van den Berg
