Choose the Right Path
Welcome back. I want to say good morning, because that’s when I write these reflections—but I realize not everyone reads them early in the day. Whatever time it is for you, today we’re reading Isaiah chapters 34 through 37.
My inclusion of details of Assyria’s defeat yesterday may have surprised you. I probably should’ve given a spoiler alert. Today’s verses give us the buildup to that event, but I shared it early for one reason: chapter 35 offers something even more compelling.
A Journey Worth Taking
I’ll admit some bias—Pilgrim’s Progress is one of my favorite Christian books. (1) Years ago, while taking a group of college students to a church camp in Glorieta, New Mexico, I attended a class on John Bunyan’s allegory. It instantly became a favorite.
That’s exactly where my mind went as I read Isaiah 35:8–10. It begins, “And a highway will be there.” (Isaiah 35:8, NIV) Whether it’s the character Christian from Bunyan’s story or those of us who call ourselves Christians, we’re all on a journey. Along the way, we’ll meet friends and enemies, celebrate victories, and endure defeats. Our goal is what Bunyan called the “Celestial City.”
Isaiah tells us that God provides a highway for this journey—a raised path, according to many commentaries on BibleHub.org,(2), that keeps the traveler safe from predators. “It will be called the Way of Holiness.” (Isaiah 35:8)
Not Every Path Leads to Life
This is not the path described in Proverbs: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12; cf. Proverbs 16:25, NIV)
Instead, Isaiah points us to the highway: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:9, NIV)
This is the path Jesus described when Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus replied: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:5–6, NIV)
Isaiah confirms this: “It will be for those who walk on that Way.” (Isaiah 35:8)
The Redeemed Walk Safely
Isaiah warns, “The unclean will not journey on it.” Those who rely on their own righteousness won’t travel this path. Their sins make them unclean. But Jesus offers a solution: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
When we accept that gift, we avoid the dangers Christian faced on his way to the Celestial City—including the lions that prowled the road. Scripture warns: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)
But Isaiah reassures us: “No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there.” (Isaiah 35:9)
This is what it means to walk in the light: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light… the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, ESV)
The Path Is Narrow
Isaiah qualifies this promise: “Only the redeemed will walk there.” (Isaiah 35:9)
If you haven’t surrendered your life to the Lord, you remain unredeemed. But when you trust in Jesus, He pays the ransom for your sins: “[He] gave himself as a ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:6, ESV)
Any other path leads to perdition: “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.” (Matthew 7:13, NIV)
Don’t Wait
Are you walking with the Lord? Are you on the right path? Have you made His ways your ways?
If not, don’t wait. We all assume we have more time than we do. Today, while you have breath in your lungs, call out to Jesus—and He will send the Holy Spirit to guide you: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13, ESV)
Chicago-Style Citation
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress (Chicago: M.A. Donohue, [1910–1919]).
Bible Hub, “Isaiah 35:8,” accessed July 20, 2025, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/35-8.htm.