Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
During Jesus’s reign at the millennial kingdom, the kingdom shall be filled with the pathway of holiness.
This passage is spiritually applicable to us Christians, knowing that our pathway to Heaven is holy. Nonetheless, there will always be blockages that are hindering us from growing spiritually with Christ. We need to get rid of that unclean thing which is blocking our holy highway to heaven.
The Highway is a Holy Ground
As the first part of Isaiah 35:8 mentioned, we need to understand that the highway which we are walking upon is holy ground. It does not belong to us, it belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, for He paved this way for us, so that we can be reconciled with our Heavenly Father. Even our physical body should be perceived as the belonging of God, because it is indicated in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
Some Christians fail to grow spiritually, have their prayers answered, or experience true joy in their Christian walk because of their busyness indulging in vanity and worldliness. They fail to identify the causes of their sin and to remove the unclean litter on the Holy Highway.
To look even deeper into the roots and causes, ask ourselves why do we fall into discouragement and worldliness.
Firstly, could it be the feelings of our fleshiness?
Secondly, could it be the people whom we choose to hang around with? Some people are just time-wasters, and they tend to distract us from serving the Lord and our Church.
Thirdly, could it be because we are so busy thinking only about ourselves? Craving for attention from the world and our friends. Sometimes we are so desperate for attention, yet we fail to pay attention to our outward behavior of how wretched it is, and how much we need to repent and to live a sanctified life, more importantly, to reset our priorities.
The Unclean Shall Not Pass
There are times where we stray away from the holy path because we forget to let God’s words convict us, especially when we sin. We are so caught up with what’s going on around the world. For instance, the tribulations of the world; the rewards of the world, and we tend to spiral down into worldliness, but if we were to just pluck ourselves and to view all of it from a third-person viewpoint, it becomes very easy for us to identify our sins and wickedness. It is just like recording and watch how we behave in a video recorder. That will give us clarity and put things into perspective. We are always so blinded when we are in the midst of our fleshy fantasies, time to ‘think and look out of the box’!
Other times, we may also get discouraged and depressed because we lack spiritual results. Surprisingly, that could also be part of our response and feelings of fleshiness, due to our pride and eagerness to want acknowledgment and praise from people.
Tiredness is also another reason that may stop us from spiritually growing. Tiredness could stem from us not physically taking care of our health, diet etc. Nonetheless, it could also stem from our lack of desire in serving God, such as reading the bible, passing out tracts, preaching the gospel. If we do not find joy in doing these things, we can be worn out very easily.
Impatience and bad spirits also stop us from sincerely serving the Lord. The last part of Isaiah 35:8 reminds us to always examine our intentions and will power.
Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
We know that we are bound to repeat our mistakes, but as long as we are determined to introspect and look into the original causes, the litter on the Holy Highway, we will ultimately experience vast improvement.
Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
This passage encourages us to lay aside our sins. It is not to entirely forbid ourselves from committing that one particular sin, but it is to find out the roots and causes behind the sin, and try to get rid of the causes. Is it our pride, self-centeredness, or the people around that influence us? It simply takes awareness and dedication to do so.
Just remember at all times, all of the uncleanness shall not pass on the Holy Highway!