Your Mountain Will Be Leveled and Ravine’s Filled Up
The words of the prophet Isaiah as quoted in Luke 3:4-5, speaking of John the Baptist;
“Here is a voice of one shouting in the desert,
‘Get the road ready for the Lord,
Make the paths straight for Him.
Every ravine must be filled up,
And every mountain and hill leveled down;
The crooked places must become straight roads,
And the rough roads must be made smooth,
And all mankind must see the salvation of God.’”
To make a path straight for the Lord and get the road ready for Him, I thought how interesting it was that all the ravine’s must be filled up. Ravine’s could be portions of our past and old life that haven’t yet been surrendered to God fully. Those things we can take to Him and offer up to Him as a living sacrifice like it says in Romans 12:1-2;
“I beg you, therefore, brothers, through these mercies God has shown you, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies as a living sacrifice, devoted and well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Stop living in accordance with the customs of this world, but by the new ideals that mold your minds continue to transform yourselves, so as to find and follow God’s will; that is, what is good, well-pleasing to Him, and perfect.”
We must take time to allow God to bury that old man and with it the past-life. Let Him fill up that ravine. This is part of making a road straight for the Lord. That old man with its affections and lusts is crucified with Christ. It has to become dead and buried with Him.
“Every ravine must be filled up,”
“And every mountain and hill leveled down;” If we continue reading Romans 12:3-8, we see Paul encouraging each of the believers not to estimate themselves above their real value. He encouraged them to make a sober rating of their lives. These mountains of pride and arrogance and other mountains that want to raise themselves, must be leveled down. When we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, the Bible says that He will raise us up.
Repentance before God is the beautiful key to both having the ravine filled up and the mountains leveled. Repentance is such a beautiful way to making a road straight for the Lord. Have you ever just taken time to sit on the ground and be alone with Him? There isn’t a whole lot that needs to be said in these times. He knows why you’re there with Him and He alone knows
the deep healing needed. He invited your heart to be with Him. He knows the ravines and mountains that are keeping you from Christ being formed in you. So when you are just alone in His Presence, there is nothing passive about that from His perspective. Every moment spent there on your knee’s or just on the floor, He is pouring into you and the old junk has to rise over the top and spill out. Because His Presence In you leaves no room for the other stuff. You never leave a place alone with God unchanged. Never.
I remember a time that I had spent alone time with God. I had been a Christian for years upon years. I was in my 30’s and this was just a moment I knew I desperately needed God. There were detrimental areas of my life I couldn’t change and they were causing havoc. I had been a good little Christian as far as anyone could see. I was serving Him in Church duties and bible studies. I was trying so hard to be what everyone around me thought I should be. But it wasn’t a genuine and real connection with God and my deep, inner life was a reflection of it. So I sat there. Alone. It was quiet and awkward. I whispered to Him my desperation. I sat alone and quiet some more. Finally in a bit of impatience, I got up a little frustrated. I didn’t hear some audible voice or have some miraculous vision. I wasn’t flooded with joy or happy thoughts. But you know what happened? And I still can reminder it like it was yesterday. When my kids got home from school, and my husband came home from work.....all the things, the triggers that would bother me and I would jump in and try to correct or control things in anger.....it was all gone. The things that deeply bothered me and quickly angered me didn’t anymore. In that time with God, He had healed me of whatever it was that triggered so easily inside me. It was HUGE!!! I began to enjoy my kids and husband more and because that stuff wasn’t there, I enjoyed His peace more and I became a calmer person. And trust me, I wasn’t a calm person normally. I was always tormented with thoughts that I wasn’t good enough or the religious thoughts that plagued me that I never did enough. So much happened in that one time alone with Him. What would happen if I would make that my practice every day?
So beloved, take time to be alone with God. He will fill up the ravine’s in your life and level the mountains and hills. He will turn your crooked places into straight roads and smooth the rough ones. He will do it. And your road to Him will be straight and level. You will walk with Him more steadily without those pitfalls plaguing your feet. AND you will be able to help others to point them to the Healer as you see their ravines and mountains.
“Here is a voice of one shouting in the desert,
‘Get the road ready for the Lord,
Make the paths straight for Him.
Every ravine must be filled up,
And every mountain and hill leveled down;
The crooked places must become straight roads,
And the rough roads must be made smooth,
And all mankind must see the salvation of God.’”
To make a path straight for the Lord and get the road ready for Him, I thought how interesting it was that all the ravine’s must be filled up. Ravine’s could be portions of our past and old life that haven’t yet been surrendered to God fully. Those things we can take to Him and offer up to Him as a living sacrifice like it says in Romans 12:1-2;
“I beg you, therefore, brothers, through these mercies God has shown you, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies as a living sacrifice, devoted and well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Stop living in accordance with the customs of this world, but by the new ideals that mold your minds continue to transform yourselves, so as to find and follow God’s will; that is, what is good, well-pleasing to Him, and perfect.”
We must take time to allow God to bury that old man and with it the past-life. Let Him fill up that ravine. This is part of making a road straight for the Lord. That old man with its affections and lusts is crucified with Christ. It has to become dead and buried with Him.
“Every ravine must be filled up,”
“And every mountain and hill leveled down;” If we continue reading Romans 12:3-8, we see Paul encouraging each of the believers not to estimate themselves above their real value. He encouraged them to make a sober rating of their lives. These mountains of pride and arrogance and other mountains that want to raise themselves, must be leveled down. When we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, the Bible says that He will raise us up.
Repentance before God is the beautiful key to both having the ravine filled up and the mountains leveled. Repentance is such a beautiful way to making a road straight for the Lord. Have you ever just taken time to sit on the ground and be alone with Him? There isn’t a whole lot that needs to be said in these times. He knows why you’re there with Him and He alone knows
the deep healing needed. He invited your heart to be with Him. He knows the ravines and mountains that are keeping you from Christ being formed in you. So when you are just alone in His Presence, there is nothing passive about that from His perspective. Every moment spent there on your knee’s or just on the floor, He is pouring into you and the old junk has to rise over the top and spill out. Because His Presence In you leaves no room for the other stuff. You never leave a place alone with God unchanged. Never.
I remember a time that I had spent alone time with God. I had been a Christian for years upon years. I was in my 30’s and this was just a moment I knew I desperately needed God. There were detrimental areas of my life I couldn’t change and they were causing havoc. I had been a good little Christian as far as anyone could see. I was serving Him in Church duties and bible studies. I was trying so hard to be what everyone around me thought I should be. But it wasn’t a genuine and real connection with God and my deep, inner life was a reflection of it. So I sat there. Alone. It was quiet and awkward. I whispered to Him my desperation. I sat alone and quiet some more. Finally in a bit of impatience, I got up a little frustrated. I didn’t hear some audible voice or have some miraculous vision. I wasn’t flooded with joy or happy thoughts. But you know what happened? And I still can reminder it like it was yesterday. When my kids got home from school, and my husband came home from work.....all the things, the triggers that would bother me and I would jump in and try to correct or control things in anger.....it was all gone. The things that deeply bothered me and quickly angered me didn’t anymore. In that time with God, He had healed me of whatever it was that triggered so easily inside me. It was HUGE!!! I began to enjoy my kids and husband more and because that stuff wasn’t there, I enjoyed His peace more and I became a calmer person. And trust me, I wasn’t a calm person normally. I was always tormented with thoughts that I wasn’t good enough or the religious thoughts that plagued me that I never did enough. So much happened in that one time alone with Him. What would happen if I would make that my practice every day?
So beloved, take time to be alone with God. He will fill up the ravine’s in your life and level the mountains and hills. He will turn your crooked places into straight roads and smooth the rough ones. He will do it. And your road to Him will be straight and level. You will walk with Him more steadily without those pitfalls plaguing your feet. AND you will be able to help others to point them to the Healer as you see their ravines and mountains.
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