Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 2 – HEART (WATCH HERE)
Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord 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.
Scripture tells us that preparing the way for the Lord is not about perfect behavior, spotless routines, or flawless religious performance. Isaiah says the way is prepared when the valleys are lifted up, the mountains are brought low, and the crooked places are made straight. These images are not commands for us to fix ourselves; they are pictures of what God Himself does within our heart. Preparing the way for the Lord begins when the Spirit of God changes the deepest places of our hearts with his transforming power.
We often think spiritual growth depends on our ability to manage, control, or improve ourselves. But Scripture gives a different picture. Psalm 145:14 says, “The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” God is the One who lifts what is low—our shame, our despair, our hidden exhaustion. He takes the parts of us we try to hide and brings healing where we thought only brokenness existed.
He also brings low what is high. Pride, self-reliance, stubborn independence—these mountains are not leveled by guilt or self-discipline but by the gentle work of God’s Spirit. Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. When we stop relying on our own strength, God straightens our wandering paths. He clarifies decisions, aligns our steps, and guides us toward wholeness.
Ezekiel 36:26 offers perhaps the most comforting promise of all: “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” God softens what is hardened in us—old wounds, deep disappointments, defensive habits, and fears that have calcified over time. We are not asked to make our hearts tender; we are invited to bring our hearts to the One who can.
We are not called to reshape ourselves. We are not called to manufacture spiritual growth. God Himself reshapes what life has damaged. The valleys, mountains, crooked places, and hardened ground are not tasks on our spiritual to-do list. They are invitations for God to work.
So how do we respond? We invite Him in. We allow the Spirit of God to be the “road crew” to prepare our hearts to welcome our Savior.
Home is not the place where everything is perfectly ordered. Home is the place where healing is happening. In the same way, a spiritually prepared heart is not a flawless heart—it is a heart where God is welcome to work.
Invite Him into your lowest places—the parts of you overwhelmed by discouragement or weariness. Invite Him into your hardest struggles—the patterns that feel too strong to break. Invite Him into your hidden failures—the regrets you rarely speak aloud. These are the very places where the Lord builds pathways for His presence, leveling and straightening it all with the power of his love and the reality of his forgiving grace!
Apply: Where do I most need God to reshape my heart? Which valleys need lifting? Which mountains need leveling? Which hardened places need softening?
Prayer: Lord, create in me a heart that welcomes You. Lift what is low, soften what is hard, and straighten what is crooked in me. Make my heart a home where Your healing can take root. Amen.