1 In those days John the
Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,2 “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet
Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his
paths straight’” (Matthew 3:1-3, ESV).
John the Baptist arises on
the scene early on in the book of Matthew.
Although, we see him in the New Testament, he is considered to be the
last of the Old Testament prophets. A
prophet who would deliver God’s message to the people. He would be the one voice crying out in the
wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord!
The Gospel of Luke of fills in some more details for us regarding John
the Baptist.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country,
to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the
house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard
the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a
loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the
sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed
is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:39-45, ESV).
While Mary
was pregnant with Jesus, she went to visit Elizabeth who was also pregnant with
John. This account tells us how John
leaped in her womb at the visit of Mary and Elizabeth was filled with Holy
Spirit. God prepared him before he was born to be the one voice crying out,
prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. In other words, he was born for this!
Recently, I
had a situation where someone was trying to limit my voice. Basically, this
person, was telling me I didn’t have a say and not to teach the very things God
had spoken to me to teach. There was a
time this would have crushed me, but I quickly began to see the enemy was at
work once again.
You have to
realize, it took me a long time to realize God’s calling on my life. My calling would use the very voice God has
given me - to speak and teach.
Ironically enough, my voice has been the very thing the enemy has tried
to attack and keep silent throughout my entire life. The enemy had me believing the lies - no one
listens, or your voice doesn’t matter. I
believed those lies for almost my whole life, until Jesus began to change that
and free me from the lies! He began to
speak truth to me – your voice matters and you have a voice now use it. A while ago I had heard a quote from Lisa
Bevere, “When the enemy oppresses, it is always because he fears what we might
become.” God's plans for me was to use
my voice, no wonder the enemy would try to come against me and hold back my
voice.
And so, in
this recent encounter, I quickly realized the enemy was trying to resurface
those old lies he had told me my whole life, but God’s timing is perfect. I had just been away on women’s retreat and
wouldn’t you know the theme of the weekend – breaking lies! Even though the enemy was trying to cheat me
of my God given destiny, it was His perfect time and God affirmed me once again,
my voice matters, now use it! Not only
has God affirmed me, but my testimony and calling has been confirmed by other
mature believers as well.
God has
given me a voice to use for His purposes, to do the works He has prepared in
advance for me to do. In other words, I was born for this!
One voice matters!
One voice can lead someone to Christ!
One voice can bring someone to repentance!
One voice can shine light into the darkness!
One voice can strengthen another!
One voice can free the multitudes from bondage!
One voice can bring justice!
One voice can affirm the will of God!
One voice can speak Truth!
One voice!
One voice can make a difference. How is
God calling you to use your voice for Him?
Father God, we thank you that you did not remain
silent. We thank You that You continue
to speak to us today, You speak through scripture and even more personally through
Your Holy Spirit. Father would you give
us the courage to speak Your words boldly to others even when someone else tells
us to keep silent. Continue to use us as
Your vessels to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to lead others to
repentance, and to shine light in this world of darkness. May you give us the words to speak for others
when they cannot speak for themselves, a voice to strengthen and encourage
others, a voice that brings freedom in times of bondage, and a voice that
brings justice. Father may we be hearing
directly from You to affirm Your will in this time and season we are placed,
and may we always speak in truth! May we
be a voice that prepares for Your will and work in our lives and those around
us. In Jesus Name, Amen.
