Expectant – “Peace”
“This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.” “How did we get ourselves in this place?” “Why is there so much fear and distrust in our nation?” “God, show yourself in powerful ways.” Those are the questions, the pleas and the requests that seem to amplify among us. From small and isolated cries to enormous vocal movements, we desire an answer. We demand an answer. It seems we desire someone to blame.
Yet the failure or reluctance to look within is not without pain. Do we really want ‘a voice of one calling; “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD.” I think we’re good with the “glory of the LORD revealed and all mankind together will see it.” But the call of repentance? Who’s really on board for a redirection of life that prepares the way for the LORD? Who among us will acknowledge a bulging deficit of personal and global virtue that can only be filled by ‘”making straight paths for Him?” The prophetic voice of Isaiah and the prophetic fulfillment of John the Baptist bear witness to a peace that we might not be ready to acknowledge.
Individually, we are where we are by choices that direct the trajectory of our lives. As a nation, we are where we are by a million daily decisions in the name of liberty, Wall Street, wishful thinking or foreign policy. A ten-year war, securitized mortgages, the pandemic of personal debt, growing entitlement, the option of God, the election of ideologues—those didn’t just emerge mysteriously. Our fingerprints are all over them; decisions, demands and choices made at the crossroads of conscience, belief and haste. And so we cry out, “God, this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. Come and fix it.” And he has. And he will.
He has promised. He has come. And he is coming. We may not want the peace he offers or the answers that he provides. They force us to face the facts; and face ourselves. But the way of peace has been provided. Before the fullness of the kingdom can be made known, the rough ground must become level and every mountain be made low and God be glorified. Only then will the peace of God fill our hearts, our nation, and our earth. Only then will the shepherd gather his flock and carry us close to his heart. Only then will things be as they were intended to be. Peace.
Isaiah 40:1-11 (TNIV)
1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”“All people are like grass,
and all human faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.Mark 1:1-8 (TNIV)
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a][b] 2as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”[d]4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with[e] water, but he will baptize you with[f] the Holy Spirit.”
