SMOOTH ACCESS

Isaiah 40:4-5: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be laid low—and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain—and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together—for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

We cannot doubt as to the primary and original meaning of these words, for the Holy Spirit himself, in the New Testament, is their divine interpreter. We read thus, Matthew 3:1-3, “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'”

But the words of the text are applicable not only to the first manifestation of the Son of God in the flesh, and the preparations made for it by the preaching of John in the wilderness but to the removal also of those obstacles which precede the inward revelation of Christ to the soul. Now grace, in the manifestations of Christ, fills up the valley. The wound in your affections that you thought never could be healed; the distressing bereavement in your family; the painful trial and heavy loss in providence; and not only these temporal griefs and sorrows but the mournful feelings in grace, the bitter pangs that you may have experienced from the weight and burden of guilt laid upon your conscience, your doubts and fears and sinkings of heart—all these deep depressions and hollows have to be filled up; all have to be brought out of their sinking condition. That marshy state of soul; that “miry clay” in which the feet are fixed (Psalm 40:2); that “deep mire where there is no standing” (Psalm 69:2); that Slough of Despond into which the Pilgrim sinks, have all to be drained, that there may be firm, solid ground.

This firm and solid ground is the manifested love and blood of Christ; the revelation (to which I shall come presently) of the glory of God to the soul, in the person and works of Immanuel, God with us. This exalts the valley, for it fills the aching void, heals the wound, drains the morass, and makes the ground firm and solid by manifesting salvation as a divine reality, as an unshaken and irremovable foundation.

You may be pressed down at times with the power of unbelief, and think and say there never was a heart like yours, so unable to believe, so doubting at every step; but this deep conviction of your wretched unbelief, which is the Spirit’s work to show (John 16:9), only makes you long for that living faith of which Christ himself is not only the Object but the Author and Finisher.

You may be sunk at times in despondency, as to both your present and future state; but that makes you the more desire to have a good hope through grace, as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast.

You may feel at times the guilt, and not only the guilt, but the dreaded power and prevalence of sin; but that only makes you long the more earnestly for manifestations of pardon and peace, and that no sin may have dominion over you. “The mouth of the Lord has spoken it,” that sooner or later you shall have every needful blessing. The valley you now feel shall be exalted; the mountain and hill shall be made low—the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and your eyes shall see the glory of the Lord Christ shall be made precious to your heart; he will come sooner or later into your soul, and then when he comes he will manifest himself as your Lord and your God. And so you keep hanging, and hoping, and looking up until he appears; for your heart is still ever saying, “None but Jesus, can do helpless sinners good.”

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for being my strength, let all your plans for me from your word come to pass in Jesus name. Amen

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The Lady Evangelist Kim
gospelrevolutionmovement@gmail.com