Prepare the Way of the Lord, by Krista Dunk

Like John the Baptist was called as a messenger to prepare the way for the Lord, to go before Him and "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord," there is a call today to all His messengers:

Make straight the way for the Lord! Build it up, prepare the highway! Remove the stones and stumbling blocks out of the way of My people!

Many of God's people feel an urgency right now, a shift of seasons, and some say even a new era has begun. A fresh call has been given for us to "come away with Him" and deepen our relationship with Him in this hour. In this call, as always, there is a seed of salvation for those who've never known Him or those who've backslidden to return. But it goes even beyond this purpose. The call is also for current believers to be ready and prepared for what God wants to do next in His church and the world. The messengers are to call the church to get ready. Prepare yourselves.

But as His messengers, are we preparing the people to receive Him in their hearts, or are we preparing some sort of path for Him so He can arrive? Both, they are one in the same. The way of the Lord is prepared when people's hearts are prepared because He's both coming to us and through us. We host His presence, His next move and new thing, His Spirit, His Kingdom on earth, His glory. When we are prepared to host Him, then He can come. We are His highway.

What is the call to the people? How can they be prepared? Luke 1:17: "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Reconciliation: Family and Repentance

Based on Luke 1:17, we see that the angel who spoke this to Zacharias about his son John the Baptist's miraculous birth refers to Malachi 4's call for family relationships and God's family relationships to be restored. John the messenger "will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God," as it says in verse 16. John would also call for the disobedient to repent and come back to wisdom of those who do the right thing. Return to the right way.

Of course, when it comes to family and church family restoration, we can only be responsible for our portion. We cannot control another person's decisions or reactions, but as much as it depends on us (Romans 12:18), in cleanness of heart, we can do our part and attempt to bring peace to our relationships. Like the vinedresser in Luke 13:7 who wanted to fertilize the tree to try to revive it before the vineyard owner cut it down, we do what we can, knowing another person's will is involved and they get to choose.

So, how do we prepare the way for the Lord and answer this call? First, we prepare ourselves. What new thing does He want to do in your own life? You must be ready for it. And as members of His body, part of how we each help get the body ready for His upcoming church-wide move is by readying ourselves individually. In what way(s) do you need to return to Him and repent? In what way(s) do relationships need restoration in your family and local church? Have your lamp burning.

Next, we release the call and vision to others. Help people see the great need to reconcile with God and other important relationships in their lives. Help them, in whatever assignment God has you in, get rid of anything standing in their way of reconciliation. Stumbling blocks and stones in our way are things that hinder restoration (between each other and God), things like sin, fear, unbelief, doubt, anger, unforgiveness, distrust, lies, perversion, rebellion, idolatry, pride. Be reconciled, and be ready.

Are you a messenger tasked with this work? To some degree, I believe we all are. With our diversity of gifts and destinies we all contribute to preparing the way for the Lord to come in ever-increasing ways on earth. People need to know that by getting themselves ready through repentance and relationship restoration (which is a work of His grace and not our willpower or striving), we can be ready for what He wants to do in our lives, in the church, and in the world!

"So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'” —2 Corinthians 5:20