By Chrissie Greaves
Has the Christian voice been lost?
As society moves further away from the standards laid down in the Bible, Christians have found it increasingly difficult to speak out in the face of such opposition. Just as the pandemic left many people with residual coughs and physical breathing difficulties, so we struggle to make ourselves heard with the spiritual truths we carry.
Before Jesus’ first coming, God sent John the Baptist to breathe life into those words from Isaiah 40: “a voice of one calling ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord.’” In these days before Jesus’ second coming, it follows that we, corporately, are being charged with that same commission. Three times in the first nine verses of Isaiah chapter 40, we read about ‘the voice’.
Verse three of Isaiah 40 tells us what to declare: “Prepare the way”. This is an exhortation to one another to put crooked things straight, elevate the lowly, bring down the lofty, and remove stumbling blocks.
Verse six asks the question: “What shall I cry?” The answer comes clearly that instead of concentrating on what human beings have to say, we need to remember that we are like grass, our faithfulness and constancy is like the flowers of the field, here today, gone tomorrow. But the word of our God stands forever. We don’t debate with fallen, inconstant humans whether it’s true or not. We declare the unchangeableness of it. It is as relevant today as it ever was. It cannot change.
Verse nine tells us to lift up our voice, shout, do not be afraid as we declare: “Here is your God!” Behold the Man! We are to continually point to Jesus, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God.
So then, here are three declarations that God’s people, corporately, can make as they rediscover their voice:
- Prepare the way!
- The word of our God stands forever!
- Here is your God!
Chrissie and her husband Colin are regional reps for the World Prayer Centre. They are based in the Lake District and connect with those in the north and Scotland.
