Carving a Pathway to God
Pastor Ken
Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)
…the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the
Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.
Notice the words “longs” and “wait.” In the original Hebrew, they are exactly the
same word, meaning exactly the same thing; “to cut or to carve out a pathway.”
You know those “Indiana Jones” type movies where the hero is using a machete to
hack his way through the thick jungle overgrowth? That’s precisely what’s being
conveyed here. Life’s circumstances can sometimes become so overwhelming that it can seemingly block your pathway to God, thereby making it necessary to carve out a pathway to Him. In other words, you must be intentional, and determined, and disciplined in your efforts to reach Him.
But Isaiah 30:18 is saying that all the while you are carving out a pathway to God,
He is simultaneously carving out a pathway to you! Take prayer for example.
Oftentimes, we think that prayer is our idea, and in a manner of speaking it is. But
the Bible implies that the Holy Spirit prompts or compels us to pray. It’s God’s way of carving out a pathway to us even before we’ve begun carving out a pathway to Him. Nowhere is this principle more apparent than in the person and in the work of Jesus.
The Bible says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Even before we
knew we needed a Savior, God was already carving out a pathway to salvation, to
healing, to provision, and to restoration.
Be assured today that God is carving out a pathway to you. Therefore, take the time to carve out a pathway to Him – being blessed in the process, thus making yourself a source of blessing to others.
Have a great Monday.