"A Highway in the Desert"

I just got done reading the last post that I wrote, and that was back in April. A lot has happened since then, and I feel a little bad for not writing about any of them, but here we are anyway. I will actually go back and revisit some of those things which I have not talked about yet, so I shouldn't be able to go this long without a post again. All this to say that the online version of The Higher Plane is now up to date and back on track.

The topic of today's post is from Isaiah 40. This chapter is probably my favorite chapter in the Old Testament, and I won't really be able to go through all that challenges me here, I want to hit on a couple of points in the first eight verses and see what you think.

My first thought comes from verse three, which as you may have noticed is where the title of this post has come from. The verse reads as follows: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." This verse is striking to me in a couple of profound ways. One is that the highway for the Lord is being made in the desert. This is important because of the fact that the desert is generally a place that kind of implies a lack of God. Now, I don't mean that if you're in a physical desert that God is not there and is not helping you at all, that would be completely wrong and you could find a hundred different verses to prove it. But when I think of a desert, I am thinking of a dry land that is thirsty and desperate for the Living Water that is Christ. I really don't believe that Isaiah is referring to an actual desert when he says this, but that he is talking about that desolate land which so deprived from the Living Word that it has dried up into spiritual nothingness. And as I think about this verse I think about how this desert can be found all over, from the most remote villages which have never heard to Gospel to the local American church which has complete access to the fullness of His Word but has removed it's power in exchange for bigger buildings and a higher number of attendees. This desert is a lack and a desire, a place which is longing for the sweet refreshing rain of the presence of God but either cannot or will not access it.

This is the wilderness that the prophet is calling out to. And I fully believe this is an invitation for us to cry out in the desert as well. I feel that it is the job of every believer to cry out for God's presence and call the desert people to experience the raging river that our God promises to be (I'm thinking of Eze 47:1-12 for this, and that is a scripture to be tackled for another time). We have to cry out, and we have to create a highway for our God in the desert so that the people can find their way to Him. And I have a particular story that paints the image for me thinking about this highway.

This summer as our team was walking down a street in Central Asia, we came across a scene where men were laying bricks down to improve the tram that went through town. The bricks were basically replacing the sand/dirt that was there. We noticed an immediate improvement. The dirt was much harder to jump in and out of the tram from, while the brick provided a firm foundation for us to place our feet giving us stability as we got on and off the tram. While this wasn't as big of an improvement for us (being young and nimble) we could see a bigger difference for the old and the crippled as they were getting on. It made it so much better for them. It made the tram easier to use for all, and especially for those who were tired and weary and needing of the help. This is an important picture for the highway we are laying for Christ in the desert, because although He can be found without it, we are giving people a firm foundation for finding God in the midst of the overwhelming desert. We are advancing His kingdom by making it easier for those who truly seeking, but are having difficulty because of age, of crippled souls, or simply because the way is difficult.

Doing the task that God has given you

The other part of this story that is relevant to me is that these men were laying one brick at a time. This wasn't a machine driven process, there were men on the ground laying a brick and then another guy would lay the next brick, and so on and so on. This was the process they went through to improve the tram, and this is exactly the process we need to follow as well. God designed this highway to be built by His Church, by men and women getting on their hands and knees, flattening and leveling the ground, and by laying one brick at a time. And it is our job to lay that one brick down to the best of our capacities, because if that brick isn't level, then the next brick isn't going to be either. Or, if the next brick is level, then that leaves the previous brick in the position of a stumbling block. We lay our brick, and set the foundation for the next person to lay their brick. It isn't important to us who gets the last brick, or the brick that leads to the most people, or whatever our case may be, our concern needs to be laying the brick which God has given us as diligently and wisely as possible. If we are lucky, God may give us another brick to lay, but we are not to be concerned with that, we are simply given a brick and a place to lay it. And at the end, we get the satisfaction of knowing that our brick made the highway, our brick was important in leading many people to Christ, and although our individual brick may not seem important at the time we lay it, without it there would be a gap in the highway and a hole in which people will trip on their way to see our glorious Father.

I guess this is as far as I'm going to get in this chapter today, but that's alright. I want to simply encourage you to lay your brick and understand that it is important. We also need to cry out while we're laying that brick, whether it is a song of praise or it is an intercession for the lost, the cry needs to go out into the desert. How can they believe who have not heard? (Rom 10:14-15). So cry out in the wilderness, lay your brick on the highway in the desert, and do not cease to cry out for Rain in the desert places of this world!