Every year Hollywood United Methodist Church curates advent devotions on their website. Today Angela's devotion was featured.
Isaiah 40:1-5
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight…Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain shall be made low; then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed”.
While the previous chapters of Isaiah are words of judgement, chapter 40 marks a turn toward comfort. The prophet tells the people that comfort will ultimately come through God and that we need to prepare for His arrival. Don’t pick up your shovels just yet to turn those mountains into hills and raise the valleys, God is asking us for something else, something inside of ourselves.
As I was thinking about this passage, I got my Bible off the shelf and read more of Isaiah for context. If I am being honest, there may have been some dust. I began to think about how I am preparing for God to comfort me. What am I looking for. What am I waiting for.
We are living in unsure times. Our country, our world is divided. I spend too much time on Twitter, absorbing all the information I can. I talk to my friends, my family, my co-workers about all the terrible things happening and how I feel powerless to stop them.
And then John Lewis comforts me. Yes. John Lewis. In all the noise, his voice comforts me. I know that he has been through tumultuous times in our country and he continues to have faith. Faith that good will win over evil. Faith that America is a democracy. Faith that all people are equal. Faith that peace is possible.
It is our job to lift the valleys and lower the mountains. It is our job to stand up and speak out. It is our job to pray. It is our job to read the (dusty) Bible. It is our job to prepare the world for God so that we may be comforted.
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