Revealed In Truth
“For the Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)
A couple of weeks ago the State of Louisiana put up some road construction signs on the highway near our house. It was the first tangible indication that the I-49 Interstate project was really underway. The forty some odd miles to complete the project between the Arkansas line and South Shreveport may just become a reality. I know they are supposed to rework part of our road in Mira, removing a couple of dangerous curves before they build the new highway, so I figured that was what was going on. I was just waiting to see some evidence of the reconstruction, but nothing was happening.
Saturday Kevin and I had to go up near Dodridge, Arkansas to get a truck part and returned through the back roads. When we got within a mile of my house, I could not believe my eyes. They had actually begun clearing the two thousand foot wide right of way for the new section of the interstate highway. The project has been in the works it seems like forever, but now something is finally being done, and to tell you the truth, it is exciting.
I pulled the car over and just stared in amazement. They started near our house, headed North on what will be the last six miles of the interstate before it connects with Arkansas. I thought they would start at the Arkansas State Line and work their way toward Shreveport, but not so. I’ve driven by the starting area it seems like a hundred times but this time it was different. The trees were gone and there was nothing left but bare ground. The hills and valleys that had once been hidden by the forest were now open for all to see. It was remarkable. What a sight.
Up where we live it is very difficult to find a piece of flat ground. Just a mile or so to the East is flat bottom river land, but, from there back the hills roll across the terrain like a roller coaster. With the trees and undergrowth in place it is really difficult to see the true terrain. But, with it gone, the sight is breath taking. I never realized how deep the ravines were and how high the hills stood above them. The machinery and the workmen seemed dwarfed by the rise and fall of the land. The huge trackhoes and bulldozers almost seemed like toys in the distance. I had to go home and get my camera. I want to try and take a picture or two every few days and watch this project grow and reveal the mighty work of God’s sculpturing of the earth. Now I realize why I love this place so. There is so much hidden, and at the same time, so much revealed. God is AWESOME!
After Kevin and I returned home, I went the next morning with my camera, snapped a couple of pictures and just sat there in awe. It was breath taking to me. But, more than that, I kept thinking about this Scripture and how God can unmask our hearts and lay them bare. There is nothing hidden from Him. There is not one hill or valley in our hearts that is not revealed to Him. There is no spring of freshness or no deep hole of darkness which eludes Him. He sees it all. It is His Word, empowered by His majestic power of being that strips away everything and leaves it in full view. Every thought and every intention will be in open sight. There is no fooling Him. He sees it all, but more than that, it clears the way for us to also see ourselves. Sometimes we like what we see and at other times, it makes us ashamed.
Once cleared and opened up, the giant dirt movers will come in and take down the high places and fill the lows. It is an amazing process to watch. Things will begin to level out, making the roadway easier to navigate. There will be no need for rugged all-terrain vehicles. Any vehicle, old or new can traverse the area with ease. Millions of tons of earth will be repositioned and then surfaced, making travel quick and efficient. the trackhoes, bulldozers, dirt movers and surfacing machines will be replaced with cars and trucks and any other type of highway traveling vehicle you can imagine. People will visit relatives, traveling the new highway to get there. Commerce will be alive, buzzing like bees on a hive, as the commercial vehicles travel from one place to another hauling their goods or conducting their business. What was once a forest and then a ravine will become a super highway.
God, with His power, clears the way for Himself to travel in our hearts through His Word. It goes in, clears the right of way, reveals what needs to be done, lowers the hills and fills the valleys and God creates a roadway for Himself. He travels within us, sometimes visiting and sometimes delivering what is necessary to sustain our heart. He knows what was there and what still remains. He shows us the rubble within ourselves and then allows us to watch what will slowly take shape.
I plan to watch this highway project intently because it is such a revealing process. It is a teacher. I have no desire to ever build a highway, but I can learn how God does it in me. And do you know what? I think that watching this superhighway arise out of the landscape will help me know more about ministry. After all, aren’t we trying to clear, level and surface each other with what we do to allow God a place to travel in our lives?
There is nothing hidden from God. He sees everything within us. The really awesome part is that He sees it and begins construction immediately to make our way efficient and productive.