Day 1: The Voice In the Wilderness

By Dr. Robert C Crowder

Reading:

Isaiah 40:1-5 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

³ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: ⁵ And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Luke 3:2-6 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; ⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; ⁶ And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

 

Reflection:

Hope begins with a voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the LORD.” Isaiah spoke these words to weary exiles who had spent seventy years in Babylon, longing for comfort and restoration. The promise was clear: God had not forgotten His people. Their captivity was ending, and the King was coming to lead them home. But before the King could enter, the way had to be prepared.

Centuries later, John the Baptist stood in another wilderness, echoing Isaiah’s call. His message was the same: make ready the Lord’s path. The geography had changed, but the spiritual reality had not. Hearts still needed preparation. Valleys of despair still needed to be lifted. Mountains of pride still needed to be brought low. Crooked paths of sin still needed to be made straight. Rough places of rebellion still need to be made smooth.

God’s promise of redemption begins not in the noise and distraction of the city, but in the quiet surrender of a prepared heart. The wilderness is not a barrier to God’s work; it becomes the very place where His glory is revealed to those who will listen. Hope doesn’t always remove the wilderness season from our lives, but it transforms us within it by revealing God’s purposes and preparing us for His presence.

The call to preparation is for both the church and the individual. Israel needed to ready itself for the Messiah’s coming. The church awaits His return. And each believer must allow the Holy Spirit to level pride, fill emptiness with grace, and make the heart a highway for the King. Every Advent, we remember: the Lord is coming. Is the way prepared?

Prayer:

• Ask the Lord to prepare your heart for His coming by revealing specific areas where pride needs to be leveled or emptiness needs to be filled with His grace.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to do His transforming work in the wilderness seasons of your life, making you ready to receive Christ afresh.

Consider:

Write one specific area of your life that needs God’s preparation: perhaps a stubborn sin, a broken relationship, or a place of spiritual dryness. Pray daily for the Holy Spirit to do His leveling, filling work there throughout this week.