Man, when I tell you… God speaks, I mean just that. This is becoming a pattern now. I was on my last break at work, sitting with God and meditating on His word. Then the gigantic crane that normally sits stationary across the street from our building moved.
The crane is extremely high in the air, I’d say it’s at least 100 feet up. It runs vertically, then horizontally. It’s utterly hard to miss. The crane as well as the workers have been there for a while now. The construction workers have been hard at work for months. I’ve no clue what they are building, but they are indeed building away at something.
As I watched the crane move, it dropped down, grabbed a piece of material, and moved it over to where the workers were. I felt God nudging me to get up and watch it. So, I did.
Then, I felt God asking me “What are they doing?” I replied within myself, “They are building… laying a foundation it appears…. They’re building something.” Then I felt as if God was telling me to go back and read the scripture I was reading before I went on break.
I was reading Isaiah 62 before the break. But I stopped at verse 9.
So, I went back to my desk and continued reading. And what did the scripture say?
Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.
(Isaiah 62:10 NIV)
Ugh, hello! Build up, build up the highway? Like, seriously. How could I not come to you with this message today? In fact, I had another message I was going to give you all this week. But that article will be postponed for the time being because God said, “Prepare the way for the people and to build up the highway.”
And God doesn’t have to tell me twice! Well… sometimes He does because I can be stiff-necked and/or oblivious to what He wants me to do. Please don’t look at me side eyed, reader. You’ve been stiff-necked and oblivious before too. But there was no oblivion here. This was abundantly clear.
So, let me raise this banner, prepare the way, and build up this highway for you today. So, what highway am I building up? Why, I’m glad you asked. I’ll let the highway speak for itself:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6 NIV)
Preparing the way for Jesus has occurred for thousands of years. Jonah entered the belly of a fish for 3 days as a foreshadowing of how Christ would be in the tomb for 3 days. Daniel was given a prophetic vision (Daniel 7) about the coming of a Messiah who had clothing and hair that was as white as snow and wool. Ezekiel was also given a vision (Ezekiel 1) where he saw a man with the appearance of bronze and fire who had the likeness of God. These visions are exactly what we see in the book of Revelations when Christ returns.
The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
(Revelation 1:14-15 NIV)
This same Jesus, who was prophesized thousands of years before His entrance into earth, was also spoke of while He walked the earth. John the Baptist was tasked with the honorable job of preparing the way of the Lord before Jesus’s lordship was known to man. When John was asked who he was he said:
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’
(John 1:23 NIV)
Oh, yes! We see that even John the Baptist was prophesized by the prophet Isaiah. Before John was born, his purpose was known… he was to prepare the way of the Lord. And our purpose is the same today. God has not stopped calling His people to prepare the way for Him. So, please take heed. Look at the banner I am rising. Observe what I am building today and listen to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
(Revelation 22:12-16 NIV)
This isn’t a popular subject amongst many believers today. We call on Christ to manifest things in our lives, but we tend to forget Christ’s primary message. We are to repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins. We are to walk in obedience and heed to God’s word. Somewhere along the way, we have become more concerned with what Christ can do for us instead of what we are supposed to be doing for Him.
Christ did come so that we may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10) He is a gracious loving God. God even promised to give us the desires of our heart if we take delight in Him (Psalms 37:4) But we must never forget that all things on earth are temporary. What’s the point of gaining all your heart’s desire and losing your soul in the end? (Matthew 16:26)
We need not forget the core message of Christianity. The core is this: Jesus is the way, He calls us to repent and walk according to His Word, and He is on His way back. Prepare yourself for the 2nd coming of Christ. Do not delay it. If you have backslidden come to Him today. If you have never come to Christ, come to Him today. It’s appointed for a man/woman to die once, then comes the judgement (Hebrews 9:27).
Sometimes I think people delay getting their lives together because Christ has prolonged His coming (which is actually for our benefit… read 2 Peter 3). But although Christ may not come today, you could leave this earth today. We don’t know our death dates, nor do we know the date Christ will return. That’s why we must stay prepared.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(Matthew 24: 42-44 NIV)
He's coming like a thief in the night, so be prepared! Stick with God. Obey God. Follow Him, deny yourself, and heed to His Word. My banner is raised. I have built this message. I have blown the horn. I only pray that God is pleased with my preparing of His way. I am signing off now. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer. Until next time, be blessed.
Quin Arrington's debut book "And Then You Shall Have Good Success: Attaining Good Success God's Way" is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook format. Link to book listed below.