Luke 3:5
“Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.”
What does Luke 3:5 mean?
Isaiah prophesied this about God's transformative work, and Luke applies it to Jesus's coming. The image is of a landscape being radically leveled and smoothed, making a path where none existed before. In our own lives, this speaks to how God works to remove obstacles between us and him. Those valleys of despair and grief won't stay empty and broken; they'll be filled with purpose and hope. Our proud places, where we trust in our own strength, will be brought down. The twisted places in us, the shame and distortion we carry, will be straightened out. The rough terrain of our confusion and pain will become navigable again. This isn't about God erasing our difficulties, but about him moving through our circumstances to create a way forward where the path had seemed impossibly blocked. It's good news for anyone who feels stuck.