PREPARING THE WAY, 3.

  Isaiah 40:4; "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low."

What are the valleys in our lives? Depression? Insecurity? Those are the things I have had to battle with for most of my life.  But the Lord showed me that when depression tries to force its way in, it wants to get between me and Jesus so that all I can see is depression. If I choose to fix my attention on Jesus, the depression has no power over me, and it has to leave. This goes back to my post about "Singleness". We must focus on Jesus, give Him our attention and allow Him to be Lord.

Corrie ten Boom had an expression that I use to remind myself where to focus: "Look within and be depressed. Look around and be oppressed. Look at Jesus and be at rest."

 And what about insecurity? In myself I am not worth anything. But Jesus died for me. God loved me so much that He gave His only Son for me! Then why do I need to feel inferior and insecure? God loves me!

What are the mountains and the hills? Pride? Selfishness?

God created everyone equal. No one is better than anyone else. We all have different callings, different abilities, different talents. But we are all worth the same in God's eyes. So none of us have any business feeling superior, or better than others.  

We are supposed to love one another. In 1 Corinthians 13 it says that Love is not puffed up or proud. So let's not look down on someone else because they are different from us.

And we are also supposed to be kind, patient, and unselfish. Let's forgive others because God has forgiven us. Jesus shed His blood for all of us. If He can forgive you, you must forgive others. Ephesians 4:31,32 says this: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor (= loud quarreling), and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." You may have heard it said that "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Bitterness will hurt you more than the other person!

So, let's cut that hill down. Let's raise up that valley, and we will have a level path for the Lord!