Lu. 3:5-6 (Part 4)

JESUS, THE LORD, IS COMING ON A PREPARED WAY INTO YOUR WILDERNESS.

Jesus doesn't want to come to every area of your life except the "wilderness" place.  He wants to come there too!

Admit that you need His help and presence.  Without Him, your "wilderness" remains a brutal taskmaster! Why do you tarry before finally "caving in" and crying out to Jesus in desperation? Away with dependence on self-help!  That hasn't been a successful strategy.

Jesus specializes in ministering to the beaten, bruised, burned, battered, belittled and burdened.  (I think that adequately describes someone's state during a "wilderness" experience.)  Oh, you might not say such things as those, but the tears in silence and solitude betray you.

"My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow." (Sidney E. Cox)

Lu. 3:4-6 (Part 1)

Background:

When a king wanted to visit or inspect a portion of territory within his kingdom, he sent ahead of him a forerunner.  The forerunner's job was to do two things:  (1) announce the coming of the king, and (2) promote preparation of the highway.

Depending on the king's destination, a "highway" had to be made.  The king would be particular about the route he traveled and the ease of travel.  He didn't want to be bounced all around and he didn't want to take forever to get to his destination.

Some roads traversed small sections of unfavorable terrain known as wilderness.  The wilderness was known for three things:

1. It was relentless.  There was little relief.
2. It was extreme.  There was little "normal" or "average."
3. It was disorienting.  There was little predictability.

Cross-reference Isaiah 40:3-5.