A voice of one calling:
In the desert prepare the way for the Lord
Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God
Every valley shall be raised up
Every mountain and hill made low
The rough ground shall become level
The rugged places a plain
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
And all mankind together shall see it
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken
Imagine for a moment you were lost in a crowd of people. Involuntarily your senses are heightened because you are longing to see or hear something familiar. And if someone then providentially calls your name above the clamour of humanity you will hear it and become attentive and stop your wandering. You will realize that you have just heard a voice of one calling. His call, if heeded, will change your life.
For he calls out to us knowing that there are desert areas in our life of prayer. He is fully prepared to carve out a highway for himself through our attitudes. Our lofty achievements, such as self-sufficiency and striving to please him, he will bring low. He will recycle them as filler to lift up the valleys that we linger in, valleys of self-doubt, and depression. He is powerful enough to edit the rough words we use to describe the homeless. Only his touch can smooth the rugged edges of our personalities.
Then if we will accept his renovations of us, his rehabilitation of us, if we accept his take on realty, which is our redemption; then there is this promise spoken by God. The glory of the Lord will be revealed. And everyone will be able to see it. This glory is Jesus ruling in our lives, it is him living in us, it is the coming of the king in our lifetime. Come Lord Jesus, come.