Dec. 11: “Prepare” by Rick Strunk
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. 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.”—Isaiah 40:3-5
Perhaps you have heard the adage, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”
We can see that played out in lots of different settings. I worked in collegiate athletics for several years and thus worked directly with lots of head coaches in different sports, and one thing they all seemed to agree upon was the importance of preparation. They would work feverishly for hours preparing for games, rehearsing for all kinds of scenarios, many of which might not even happen, and making sure their athletes were prepared, too.
The famous broadcaster, Woody Durham, once told me that preparation was the most important thing in his field. He studied and prepared reams of information to have at his disposal during a broadcast, a lot of which might not be used but was available as appropriate. And even something like teaching a Sunday school class involves a good deal of preparation. I never want to walk in and just “try to wing it”! That’s an abrogation of responsibility to that role.
The Isaiah verse, which is also quoted in Luke, speaks directly to the need to prepare, in this case “prepare the way for the Lord.” It is part of the prophecy—remember, prophecy is really “history written ahead of time,” which is what is happening here—as Isaiah looks ahead to the arrival of the Messiah. When Luke quotes it, he is referencing John The Baptist as the forerunner, helping prepare the way for Jesus and His ministry.
The actual context of the verse, though, relates to what would happen when an earthly king was coming into the area. Workers would literally try to make the highway straight ahead of his arrival, smooth out the rough places and make the road more level, more suitable for a king and making travel that much easier for the sovereign.
Prepare is an appropriate word for Advent, because it describes exactly what this season is: a time of preparation for the arrival of the King, although in this case He arrives as a helpless baby, rather than a king with an entourage.
But how do we prepare? What should we do? I am drawn to the wonderful, familiar words of the carol “Joy To The World”, which we sing every Christmas season. Just reflect on part of the first verse“: Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her king”, and then we see it—our word. “Let every heart PREPARE Him room.”
So maybe that is our personal, individual charge for this Advent season. Can we make room in our hearts for Him? In the midst of busy schedules, all kinds of shopping, decorating, travel, even church activities, perhaps we need to pause for a moment. I have to remind myself to prepare Him room in my heart, not just the first time I accepted him but every day. The “tyranny of the urgent” can distract us from what is truly important.
So we need to prepare in lots of different settings. But during Advent, especially during Advent, our hope should be that every heart prepare Him room. Failure to prepare could be preparing to fail.
PRAYER: Father, let me be conscious of my need to make sure that I am preparing room in my heart for the king, your great gift, Emmanuel, God with us. Let us use our Advent wisely in preparation for Him!—AMEN
—Rick Strunk