Monday 8 Dec 2014

December 8: Isaiah 40:1-11

Key Verse: Isaiah 40:3
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Devotion:
When I was a young lad the village was expanding and the builders were looking for suitable places to build houses without it being too far out of town. One of the ways to expand was up onto the hill side behind our house. But in order for them to be able to build houses up there they first had to do some groundwork by clearing paths, the laying foundations and then making the roads. Only then could the builders safely get up the hillside to start building the houses.

In a similar manner we have to do quite a bit of preparing before we can get to see God moving into any place. Now it is certainly not a requirement that we do all the groundwork and pre-building because God does not require anything of us; but if we are willing to do this work then we may well be the ones who get to see the houses being built by God. If we leave the preparatory work to someone else, then just maybe they will get to see the results instead of us.

The people of Israel were stuck I the desert and the whole generation had to die out before God led them over the Jordan River – just because they were not getting on and doing what God had said to do in the first place. If we do not listen to what God has in store for us then we may well miss out on seeing the glory here on earth.

God is a loving and merciful God, but He is also a just God. That means that He will stick to the word that He has given to us in the beginning. If we choose to not listen to that word then we still have to pay the consequences for not listening. Making paths in the wilderness and roads in the desert may sound a bit like hard work to start with – and it certainly will be – but the rewards far outweigh the work that we have to do to get things started. I love the work that I have to do for God because I see very special changes happening in the hearts of the young people we serve for God! And yes, it does take time!

Points to Ponder:
Are you in a rush?

Stop and listen to God!