THIS IS THE LORD'S DOING

“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.” (Isaiah 40:3).

“Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” (Isaiah 62:10). 

John the Baptist was that voice crying in the wilderness which the Prophet Isaiah was speaking of.  When John came of age, he literally went into the wilderness to preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  John’s message was so compelling that multitudes came to hear him from Jerusalem and all of Judea.  This was because it was not his own words that he spoke, but those of God, for the scripture says, “The Word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” (Luke 3:2). 

John challenged those who came to hear him with the words of God.  He confronted the hypocritical religious leaders of his time, saying, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7).  John announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand and that the King, the long awaited Messiah, was soon to be revealed.  John’s mission was to pave the way for the coming of the Christ, and his message was for Israel to repent and prepare a highway for Him in their hearts. 

God must have hearts that are fully surrendered to Him in order for His will to be accomplished.  It is difficult to navigate around a place where there are no roads and the land is full of stones, trees, mountains, and valleys.  It is equally difficult for the Lord to maneuver in a life that is strewn with sin, self-will, and other hindrances.  We must prepare highways in our lives so that the Lord can move about freely, and work His will in and through us. 

Isaiah continues his prophecy by saying, “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…” (Isaiah 40:4).  God will build up every area of our lives that has been pushed and beaten down by circumstances, heartaches, and disappointments.  He will restore our confidence, not in what we can do by our own strength, but in the limitless possibilities that He can accomplish through Jesus the Son.  The valleys in our lives can become elevated, yes, even exalted, as the Lord works everything together for His glory and purpose.   The mountains and hills, on the other hand, must be excavated and brought down.  These represent our own pride and arrogance which must be humbled in order for us to be useful to the Lord.  After all, God has said, “I will not give My glory unto another.” (Isaiah 48:11).  The crooked places in our lives need to be straightened out to form a good highway.  Every bend and crook in the road diverts us from following a straight path to God’s purpose for our life.  They waste both our time and our energy.  These can represent amusements and pursuits that distract us from God’s work.  They can also be besetting sins that turn us aside.  God says, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32).  Finally, we need to make the rough places in our lives plain and smooth. 

About a block from our house, the city has been tearing up our street to install new tiles.  The temporary patch that they put on the road surface has left the street very bumpy and rough.  It is jarring to hit that patch in a car, especially when going the top speed limit.  One must remember to slow down when approaching that section, or they will get  quite a bump.  We all run into rough patches in our lives: things that jolt us and make it uncomfortable for us to proceed.  There are things that trigger an unpleasant response in us, or evoke troubling memories.  We must recognize these rough places and smooth them out, bringing them to the Lord, so that they no longer have power over us anymore.

When we have prepared a way for the Lord in our hearts and minds, then scripture tells us that, “…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 40:5).  God’s glory can only be seen in the fullness of its power when His people have prepared a way for Him in their hearts.  When this is done, then we will have faith and assurance to believe that our warfare (our spiritual battles and struggles) is accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, and that our iniquity is pardoned by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (see Isaiah 40:1).

John the Baptist was sent by God to bear witness of the Light so that men would see and believe his testimony regarding the Son of God.  John was not the Light; he only came to bear witness of it.  Many believed John to be the Messiah when they heard his words and saw his power, but John knew who he was and what God had sent him to do. He also knew what was not his to do.  He called men to repentance and a public confession and a washing away of their sins through baptism. However, they were going to require much more – they were going to need that which only the Son of God could provide.

“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of Whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.” (Luke 3:15-17).  John had been told by God that he would see the Messiah in his lifetime.  The sign that God would give would be the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ and abiding on Him.  This was fulfilled when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.  John knew that his ministry could only go so far, but he was content to decrease so that the Lord’s influence might increase.  While John baptized in water, he said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.  John indeed gathered in a bountiful harvest of souls through his ministry.  Multitudes of people came to hear him and be baptized.  Those precious sheaves of grain needed to be processed, refined, and ground, however, in order to be useful.  This could only be done by the Son of God and by His Holy Spirit.

Many pastors and religious leaders are content to see souls saved and baptized but see that as all that is needed.  They neglect the work of discipleship and perfecting that needs to follow in order for new converts to become useful servants and soldiers for Christ.  Bringing fruit to perfection is no small task.  It takes the discipline of the Holy Spirit – being immersed in Him just as the body is immersed in water when we are baptized.  It also requires a baptism of fire that is meant to purify and refine us, but many would rather avoid this process.  The Apostle Peter, who knew a thing or two about fiery trials, describes this baptism of fire when he writes, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12, 13).  The Apostle also declares that we are “…kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:5-7). 

The mother of James and John came to Jesus asking that her two sons might sit on either side of Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.  He turned to His two disciples and said, “Ye know not what ye ask.  Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”  They did not yet understand what any of this meant, of course; but they replied, “We are able.” Oh, how many promises and declarations we make to the Lord before we even have a clue as to what it will require of us to fulfill those things that we speak so rashly.  Jesus told them, “Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.” (See Matthew 20:20-23).  Regardless of where God would place them in the Kingdom, these disciples, along with all the rest, were going to be baptized with the baptism of fire and be partakers of the sufferings of their Lord.  If they truly wanted to follow their Lord, it would be part of their lot just as it is part of ours.

John the Baptist made it clear that there was a work that needed to be done beyond what he was able to perform.  He could gather in the sheaves of ripe grain and harvest the souls of those who were hungry for the truth, but only Jesus would be able to thresh, winnow, sift, and grind the raw grain to make it into refined flour that would then become the Bread of Life. 

This refining process takes some time and is not a delicate operation.  First, the sheaves of grain are brought to the threshing floor where they are beaten with instruments that loosen the hulls, or chaff, from the grain heads.  After that, it is all tossed into the air where the wind, or a strong fan, catches the light weight chaff and blows it to the side leaving the grain to fall back to the floor.  Next, the grain is sifted to remove any other particles or debris.  Finally, the pure grain is ground up by a set of heavy millstones and then through another sieve to produce pure bread flour.

It may often seem that we are bearing more than our share of suffering.  We see others who don’t seem to have a care in the world, and yet, we are constantly under a heavy load.  The truth is, their burdens may be unseen and weigh them down just as much, or more, as ours.   

As I was praying and meditating on the Word last week, a verse popped in my mind.  The verse was from the 118^th Psalm and the 23^rd verse.  It reads, “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”  As I pondered the verse, the obvious question that came to my mind was, “What was the psalmist referring to that the LORD had done that was so marvelous?”  Of course, everything God does is marvelous, but this was referring to something very particular.  As I turned to Psalm 118, I was amazed at just how rich it was from beginning to end.  Read it when you get a chance.  There is a blessing in it for you.  I scanned through the verses until I came to verse 22 and there was the answer.  It says, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”  Then I understood what the Lord was trying to tell me.  We know that the stone that the builders refused, or rejected, was Jesus Christ.  The Jewish leaders of His day could not receive His message.  They hated and despised what He taught, and His wisdom was foolishness to them.  God, however, took that which appeared weak and foolish and made it the chief cornerstone of the entire building.  Every stone that is placed in the building must be plumb, square and level with that Stone, or it will be rejected by God.  That Stone has become a stone of stumbling to all who do not believe in Him.  Jesus quoted these verses to the head priests and elders who came to trip Him up in His words, but then He told them, “…whosoever shall fall on this Stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21:44). 

This was the LORD’s doing!  He had planned it from the beginning.  Every soul must conform to the perfect example of Jesus, the Cornerstone.  We cannot do this by our own strength or determination, but by the finished work of Christ on Calvary.  Verse 14 says, “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”  And in verse 21, “I will praise Thee: for Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.”  This is indeed marvelous!  It is marvelous because it is the LORD’s doing and not man’s.  God Himself has become our salvation.  It is taken out of our hands altogether.  We need only to believe and to receive what God has done!  What the LORD is doing normally runs contrary to what our natural man wants or thinks.  The builders thought that they knew better than God: that they had a more perfect plan.  Therefore, they rejected the Son of God along with His teachings.  They didn’t want to prepare a way for God, they had their own highway to build!  They didn’t want to drink of His cup or be baptized with His baptism.  Neither did they want to go through the threshing, winnowing, sifting or grinding that it takes to become what God wanted of them.  Like the builders of old who wanted to build a tower of their own to reach up to heaven, the leaders of Jesus’ day wanted to build a tower of their own.  God called it “Babel” in the Old Testament, and it is nothing short of confusion today when we try to build our lives and our churches around anything but the Lord Jesus Christ.  The LORD confused the tongues of the builders who worked on the Tower of Babel so that they could not understand or communicate with each other.  Could it be that He has done the same thing in our day?  So many churches are divided and splintered by their own doctrines and creeds today that they can’t seem to fellowship or communicate with one another without it creating a greater divide.  No wonder there are so many groups that can’t work together for the Lord.  Perhaps they are working on their own tower and rejecting the chief Cornerstone.  There is no other name given under heaven by which men can be saved!  This is the LORD’s doing!  And to those who have found Him to be a loving Savior, a mighty Deliverer, a powerful Healer, and a faithful Friend, He is truly marvelous! 

Whatever God does is marvelous, that’s for sure.  Even though it may take us through the path of suffering, we can be sure that our Father is working something good in our life.  He will speak comfort to His people, and we will find peace in the shelter of His wings.  Don’t fret or fear if you don’t know what God is doing in your life right now.  He loves you dearly, and He has chosen you to bring glory to His name.  He has said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  You can trust that He is working everything together according to His purpose, and that everything will be beautiful in His time.  Solomon, who was a pretty wise guy, said, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). 

“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.” (Isaiah 40:1, 2).

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).