The Gospel is good news for bad people from a surprising God. It shocks us. It offends us. It humbles us. And it transforms us. But sometimes…it bores us. Or rather, we become bored with it. That’s our fault—not God’s. What happened?

Isaiah can help us understand. Chapter 40 is pivotal in his book. Something unprecedented and disruptive takes place. Sound familiar? Here’s the occasion: God’s people are far away—physically and spiritually—in Babylonian captivity. They have forgotten God’s promises, served other masters, worshipped other gods, and settled in a spiritual wasteland. But God is about to surprise them. Check it out:     

A voice cries: 

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; 

make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

⁴  Every valley shall be lifted up, 

and every mountain and hill be made low; 

the uneven ground shall become level, 

and the rough places a plain. 

⁵  And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 

and all flesh shall see it together, 

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” -Isaiah 40:3-5 

Isaiah is serving notice. “Wake up! the King is on his way! He has not forgotten you, even though you’ve forgotten him. You wouldn’t come back to him but he is coming for you. Prepare yourselves!” 

This is sudden news, but it’s good news. God commanded Isaiah: “Comfort my people…speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Cry to her that her warfare is ended, her iniquity is pardoned” (verses 1-2).

It’s also challenging news, that for several reasons I think we can apply to ourselves right now:     

Reason #1. The King is Coming, but people are not prepared: On the first day of Holy Week (Palm Sunday), Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey—the humble king of peace. The religious crowd shouted “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” But they didn’t mean it. They only wanted a king to make Israel great again. Jesus wasn’t interested. So their cries of “crown him” turned to cries of “crucify him” by the end of the week. 

The King had arrived, but the people weren’t ready. They had too much clutter, both national and religious to see his glory. Clutter and God’s glory don’t mix—ever. Oil and water. Vinegar and Bleach. Microsoft and Apple. You get the picture. Not good. One has to go…but it won’t happen peacefully—or voluntarily. We don’t clear clutter very well.   

Reason #2. Upheaval is Necessary: As Isaiah prophesied, the rough places had to be made smooth. The mountains needed to be lowered and the valleys raised. The King needed an unencumbered highway to enter. The people needed a clear view to see his glory. The clutter had to go. And that required something radical.

Have you ever been struck by the fact that Jesus’ first act after entering Jerusalem was to cleanse the temple? The temple, where God was supposed to meet with his people. Jesus entered it and cleaned house—literally. It was a cesspool. Greed. Idolatry. Spiritual abuse. Apathy. A den of thieves. It was filthy, filled with clutter. Jesus cleansed it, but the work wasn’t pretty, or appreciated. Uprooting idols is ugly, violent work.  

See, we’re all hoarders stuck in denial. We don’t want to give up our stuff. You’ve seen the show, right? Relatives won’t visit anymore. Cat urine has turned into ammonia. Cockroaches crawling all over the place. No place to walk, sit, or sleep. Clutter. But when the removers come…it’s never easy. Even counselors have a hard time convincing hoarders to turn loose of their stuff. It requires outside intervention. As does our clutter. Divine upheaval. We don’t part with our idols easily.  

Like many Christians, I’m wondering what God is up to in this pandemic. If anything, it’s an incredible disruption. Global plans, national plans, even individual plans have been wrecked. The olympics are postponed. All sporting and entertainment events are docked. Schools are closed. Weddings. Proms. Birthdays. Nothing looks quite the same right now. Divine disruption. 

I believe God is at work—as He always is, even in a pandemic, maybe especially in a pandemic. Maybe he’s clearing our clutter away. Maybe God is hitting the pause button on all the noise, because we wouldn’t or couldn’t. Maybe God is leveling mountains and raising valleys so that the world can have a clearer view of Christ’s glory. Ray Ortlund in his commentary on Isaiah 40 writes:        

“The great sin of our race is to diminish God, but he has resolved to overcome all God-trivializing obstacles and magnify himself in our eyes through Jesus Christ the Lord.”

It’s interesting that what appears to be the peak of this pandemic is at the same time Holy Week, when Christians around the world—and a lot of unbelievers who watch from a distance—are reminded of the most history-shaping event in the world. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I know that death, hardship, suffering and grief surround us right now. I’m not trivializing that. A sweet lady in our church lost her mother to COVID-19 in a hospital up north. We still weep with those who weep and help them pick up the pieces. We still love our neighbors and serve our cities and find ways to relieve suffering.

But we don’t lose heart. We don’t lose hope. We don’t forget that God is hard at work in the mess—possibly clearing out the clutter so glory can shine through. May we see it and be changed forever.