Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Psalm 105 (New American Standard)

The LORD’S Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel
105 Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon 
His name; Make known His deeds among the 
peoples. 2 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; 
Speak of all His wonders. 3 Glory in His holy 
name; Let the heart of those who seek the 
LORD be glad. 4 Seek the LORD and His 
strength; Seek His face continually. 5 Remember 
His wonders which He has done, His marvels 
and the judgments uttered by His mouth, 
6 O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of 
Jacob, His chosen ones! 7 He is the LORD our 
God; His judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has remembered His covenant forever, 
The word which He commanded to a thousand 
generations, 9 The covenant which He made 
with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. 10 Then 
He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To 
Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, 
“To you I will give the land of Canaan As 
the portion of your inheritance,”
37 Then He brought them out with silver and 
gold, And among His tribes there was not one 
who stumbled. 38 Egypt was glad when they 
departed, For the dread of them had fallen 
upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, 
And fire to illumine by night. 40 They asked, 
and He brought quail, And satisfied them with 
the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock 
and water flowed out; It ran in the dry places 
like a river. 42 For He remembered His holy 
word With Abraham His servant;
43 And He brought forth His people with joy, 
His chosen ones with a joyful shout. 44 He 
gave them also the lands of the nations, That 
they might take possession of the fruit of the 
peoples’ labor, 45 So that they might keep 
His statutes And observe His laws, Praise the LORD!

Back when my four boys were youngsters, getting them dressed to go someplace was a huge effort. With only five years between the oldest and the youngest, they had all of the orderliness of a box full of puppies and they all needed help at the same time.
Find the clothes—two socks and two shoes for every single kid? Impossible! Are the right clothes are on the right kid—no, that one is too small for you. Give it to your brother. Oh, no! Did the baby just spit up all over his shirt?
That was the case until I discovered the key to getting ready—preparation. I began organizing the getting-dressed process. By finding clothes in advance (including socks and shoes) and setting out the going-out clothes for each boy, I had time to take care of any last-minute spit-ups or emergencies, and the boys learned their responsibilities for getting dressed and on the road.
Preparation was indispensable.
God knows the important of preparation—He invented it. When He called the Israelites to leave Egypt for the Canaan, he prepared a leader to take them there, he prepared a place for them live, and he prepared livelihoods for them to step into.
Now we are in the midst of the greatest preparation God has ever made. During Lent, as we ready our hearts through spending time with Him in prayer and reflection, we remember that by sending Christ as our Savior, God has prepared an eternal home for us, and given us the means to arrive in this eternal home.
He prepares us for both the journey and the destination. Now we can be ready.

Sara Weinert is vice president for communications at Southwestern College.

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