Voice of a Prophet: The Wilderness of Your Heart
Voice of a Prophet
The Wilderness of Your Heart
Four things are wrong with the wilderness, and there are four things we have to do before the chariot of God will ride in.
It lies with you and me whether we are going to do this or not.
We can sing about Christmas until we get calluses on our vocal cords, and we can celebrate Christmas just as long and loud as we will; but when it is all over, we may be as barren as when we started.
The wilderness and the green briars may grow over your soul, and God may be unable to get to where you are, and He may terminate His victorious progress toward your inner life somewhere out in the borders, because He comes to the crooked ways that are grown over and there is no smooth way.
1) Straighten the Paths
The first thing that needs to be done is to make His paths straight. God is not going to run around spirals or corkscrews.
Make His paths straight.
All crooked ways shall be corrected and made straight.
Everybody knows what that means, and you do not need a Philadelphia lawyer to help you.
If you want God to bless you, straighten up your life.
If you want to have the joy of the Lord, straighten up your life.
You know what is wrong with you. Lo, the chariot of the Lord shines as it moves forward toward your heart’s door and finds there only wilderness.
John simply said that the crooked shall be made straight.
Straighten it up and God will move in.
You know what it means in your own life.
I know what it means in my life.
And before the judgment of God we will know what it means.
If the Lord is going to move in on us with blessings and revival power, there must be a straightening up of our lives.
2) Fill the Valleys
Then we are to fill up every valley.
There are so many valleys in our life that take us down.
The valleys need to be filled up so that a path can be made.
No ruts and hollows in the way of the chariot, which means the sins of omission must be filled up.
What does this mean?
It means the things that we do not do.
No prayers, no Bible study, no giving, no witnessing, no Communion, no seeking God, no pursuing God—things we do not do.
To fill up the hollows, we need to start doing them.
The chariot of God cannot move in where there are hollows and rocks.
I know many people whose lives are all wilderness, and they ask what book I would recommend.
Books cannot prepare a highway for you.
I do not recommend any book except the Book of God.
We still have the felonious idea in our minds that when we are backslidden, cold, dry and barren, all we need to do is buy a book.
Others, when they find themselves barren and cold, and God seems to be a million miles away, take a course of study.
People come and ask what course I would recommend for them.
We need to stop the things we are doing that are wrong and begin doing the things we are neglecting to do.
If you were to go to a doctor and he diagnosed you with malnutrition, you would not take a class; you would ask your doctor to give you a diet so that you could eat better from now on.
How foolish it will be in the day of Christ when the eyes of Jesus, like burning flames, go into our motives and discover us.
How frightening to believe that we have allowed ourselves to become overrun by the wilderness and then say, “I will wait for an evangelist,” or “I got to hear this wonderful praying man.”
People are disappointed when a great saint of God moves into a neighborhood.
They expect him to have some pill or capsule filled with amazing power.
“Take this, sister.” The sister takes it but it does her no good.
The things of God are not received that way.
God does not give His blessings in trick pills.
What is needed is to undo some things, do the things you are not doing and straighten out your crooked life.
3) Destroy the High Places
Then we are to cut down the high places.
The mountains and hills need to be brought down.
In making a railroad, instead of going up over the bump and down into the hollow, they just knock off the bump and fill up the hollow.
Some high places in our lives need to be removed to make sure the path is straight.
High places of prominence and fame and fortune hinder God coming into your life in victory.
4) Smooth the Rough Places
We also need to make the rough ways smooth through humility and obedience, and then we shall see the salvation of God.
They take away the rough things and smooth out the road so that the chariots can run over it.
I do not know quite whether I believe it is possible or within the will of God to have a universal revival around the world.
I do know it is entirely possible to have a personal revival.
I know that you can have that; and if people have personal revivals it could develop into a universal revival.
Let me ask you some questions.
Are you satisfied with the way you lived last week?
Are you really satisfied with that?
Are you satisfied with the degree of light and power and fellowship and purity of your life?
Are you truly satisfied?
You can have a personal revival by just doing four little things:
Straighten up; begin to do the things you are not doing and should be doing; stop doing things that pop up here and tear down there; take the rocks out and smooth up the highway.
Then the shining chariot of God can move into your life.
Anybody can have a personal revival.
To start, I recommend getting on your knees somewhere with a pad of paper and pencil.
Write down the things that have grieved God, and forsake them forever.
Promise Him to do the things you have been neglecting to do.
Straighten up that crooked thing in your life and by humility smooth the highway for God, and you shall see the salvation of God before the morning sun rises.
O God, I beseech Thee to grant me the vision to see, the courage to take advantage of it and the faith to act on it.
I will smooth the way by repentance and humility and meekness of spirit.
God, help me today, I pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.
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