“Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5)
Right now two great divergent “ways” are being plowed in the souls of billions on planet earth. Event after world event, one of two ways are being reenforced in our hearts. Just as Jesus told us: One is the way of mass destruction. The other is the massively less popular way unto salvation. But don’t be fooled. The distinction between the two ways is not (indeed, cannot be) perceived in the flesh. It can only be discerned in dialogue with the Holy Spirit. (The good news is, the Holy Spirit has the love, zeal and the capacity to be having this conversation with 7.4 billion of us at the same time…)
He’s SO uniquely qualified to run this planet!
If your heart is steeped in socio-political idolatry you won’t see the true lines of division. You’ll be greatly tempted to see human circumstances according to the human lenses of socio-political division. You’ll forever be reacting to polarizing human circumstances – super-charged with suspicion, animosity, pretense, lust, self-justification and intolerance.
This is an intended strategy of the enemy. He and the antiChrist at the end of this “way” are counting on billions (including religious and secularists) to see and invest themselves heavily in this two-dimensional perspective. One of his greatest “fears” is that people will read the Word of God and discover that he (not unlike the Pharisees and the sinners; the Romans and the zealots; etc.) is playing both sides.
Political conservatism and political liberalism (like legalism and licentiousness) are BOTH in his pocket. BOTH relying entirely upon the power of collective humanism. BOTH are reacting to world events as if they are human-caused at their root. BOTH are lobbying for human-level solutions. BOTH sides have prophets and pundits and pastors and proclaimers of the way. But their vision and their authority is stunted – limited to earth-bound solutions. They presume the enemy lies in “the other camp” and can be overcome by superior wisdom, knowledge, insight, narratives, rhetoric and numbers.
Here’s the key to the deception; both of the camps CAN be overcome by superior wisdom, knowledge, insight etc. because that’s what BOTH are built on. That’s all the enemy has to work with. Lies and “truth”; fear and confidence (pride); hatred and “love”; vows and “principle” (the law)… and as long as the enemy can keep us convinced that the enemy lies in the “other” camp he’ll keep us steeped in his spirit, playing his game under his rules.
NOTE: This is actually a key reason why so many of “our” household “prophets” are being left naked event after event. Their perception is two-dimensional. Even though they create elaborate and fantasmic superstructures and storylines to make it appear that their cues are coming from another realm – their failure (on nine levels) exposes the human (and in some cases, even demonic) earth-bound substance of their words.
It requires faith in the Word of God to see things any differently. But once the Holy Spirit reveals the true distinction to you you’ll be ruined to see world events from any other perspective.
It takes faith in the Word of God to see that God is higher, deeper and in much more control of this world than either of the narratives let on. It takes faith in the Word of God to see that He is the Prime Mover. Plagues, wars, civil-strife and economics are pawns being moved on and off the Divine chess-board. It takes faith in the Word of God to stop responding to the events themselves and to begin the hard diligent work of aligning our hearts to the Prime Mover Himself.
He’s on the move! Isaiah 40:3-5 is underneath, above and within everything that we see being “played out” on the human stage right now. He’s coming!
Unless we see THIS and hold THIS as THE central reality at work in our world, we will (along with the rest of the world) be deluded by the spectacular, shiney events trending in our newsfeeds – and lay down the very things that make for true, deep and everlasting victory; “things” and “dynamics” that Jesus adamantly urged His disciples to hold onto everyday – especially in the minutes before His arrival; “things” and “dynamics” like
A. “our cross”,
B. “fear of the Lord”,
C. “meekness”,
D. “forgiveness”,
E. “prayer”,
F. “dialogue with the Spirit”,
G. “God-reliance”, and
H. “love” for God AND everyone (not our thin human-powered definition of love)
I. “zeal for His manifest presence” (There’s more…)
You want to know if you’re responding to current events in a manner that would please the Father?
You want to know that you’re cultivating a life of gold and not wood, hay and stubble?
You want to know that your faith is built on substance and not fantasy?
Through each of the events being played out on the world-stage in this hour ask yourself – ask your sisters and brothers – ask your prayer group: Are we growing in these “things” and “dynamics”? THEN we will know we are engaging our world according to the pattern of the Spirit and not the flesh. More importantly: THEN we will know that we ARE being prepared to meet the King our world desperately needs Face to face.
____________________
JSB • February 25, 2022