Highway of Holiness

(Isaiah 40)

Every valley will be raised up

    

Every mountain and hill made low

The crooked will be made straight

The rough places plain

So that God can

Make straight in the desert

    

A highway for His handiwork

His glory will be revealed

Because He alone will accomplish it

Valleys are our unmet needs

Our deprivations

Our scarcity

Experiences and the lack thereof

That prevented us from growing into full maturity

Mountain and hills are our coping mechanisms

We needed them to deal with our unmet needs

We erected them for our protection

from our experiences of deprivation and of pain

Crooked paths are work-arounds

of these

Valleys

mountains and hills

Many times these work-arounds were sinful

As they looked to ourselves

Our own strength

Instead of

to God

Rough places are the boulders we erected

As we bumble about our emotional terrain

The residues and collateral damages

Of our coping

The best that we can muster

on our own strength

Our unconscious

Subconscious

Volitional choices

to cope with what were

Lacking

Hurtful

Painful

Neglectful

And even abusive

As a child

Young child

Even at infancy

God raises up our valleys

He meets our needs

Flourishes us with abundance of

His provisions

His blessings

His love

His full pleasure

God removes our mountains and hills

His fierce love levels them

His unconditional love melts them away

As we experience His full acceptance

His very own presence annuls our need for them

His forgiveness cleanses us of our work-arounds

sinful ways of coping

of ameliorating

of comforting

of ourselves

for ourselves

by ourselves

Jesus did this by extending his arms

On the cross

As He was nailed to the cross

When He shed His blood

For our sins

The Holy Spirit removes

The pebbles

rocks

and boulders

we have erected

By sweet whispers of His love

Gentle convictions of His truths

His tender mercies and blessings

Despite our sinful ways

His life within us gives us the strength to

Face our fears

Tackle our sins

Accept His gentle corrections

Imbibe His nurturance

Feed on His truths

So that

A level ground can be established

To make way for

A highway of holiness

His HOLINESS

Where God’s glory can be shown

In our lives

Where there were valleys of lack

Now flourish with His provisions

Where the mountains and hills once were

Are now leveled and are gone

The crooked paths have been straightened

Through His blood shed on the cross

The rough roads are now smooth

No residues left

No signs of collateral damage

He can now reign freely

Unencumbered

Having His Way

His Truth

His life

Demonstrated

In our lives

Through our lives

That His Will is now accomplished

In our lives

As it is in Heaven

Our lives become

The exemplification of

His truth

His mercy

His handiwork

God’s glory is now revealed

In us

Through us