For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:3
We talk of the Christian life being one on the straight and narrow path. If we want to understand we say, “Now, let me get this straight.” We tell our children to “come straight home” after school, it means we don’t want them to veer off the path, to be tempted to go to the park, or someone else’s house, or another hangout where they may not be safe from dangers we can’t see.
God showed the prophet Amos a plumb line, a tool for getting walls and structures straight, by which He would measure the Israelites. Isaiah warned that the day of the Lord was coming and to make the paths in the wilderness straight for Him. That is what John the Baptist was quoting. When Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus, the Lord told his companions to take him to a road called Straight. Maybe that is a consequence, but I find very few of those in the Bible. God was preparing Paul for his ministry of taking Christ to the Gentiles, making him deviate from the path he was on. Making a straight path is repenting and turning to God’s ways. It is making sure nothing stands in the way, no obstacles or blind turns to keep us from running into His arms. It is also to follow the Lord, which means letting Him lead and trusting He will make our path straight and thus, not lead us into tempation and deliver us from evil.
A few ladies were talking in a Bible study about mountain top experiences and how we can’t exist solely on them. Eventually we have to go back into the valleys of our lives and trudge through them, knowing God will be with us and sustain us until we get another spiritual “high”. I am not so sure that roller coaster of faith is what God has in mind. I think our goal should be to live on an even keel, a straight flat path. It is to be so close to God and to have Him as so much a part of our lives, that there are no ups and downs, just constancy in His presence. If we trust Him enough to carry us through and follow His path He has led before us, then there will be no highs or lows, only the peace that passes all understanding no matter what the world dishes out. Will I ever achieve that in this lifetime? Can any of us? Or is that the definition of Heaven?
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Luke 3:5
