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
