“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left…” (Isa 54:2-3NIV)
Do you know that the God we serve is a God of increase? He is a God who wants His people to grow, develop, multiply, expand and enlarge in every good thing. He demonstrated that by putting a blessing of increase on every living thing that He created in the beginning. And that blessing is still at work, even now. (Cf. Gen 1:20-28)
So whenever we see redundancy or stagnancy, we should not be quick to associate it with God. God is not interested in limiting anybody; for He created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted productiveness, except the proud. (Cf. James 4:6, 1Pet 5:5)
Now you ask, “Since God actually created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted increase, why am I not experiencing it?” The reasons for that are simple: it is either you are proud or you are limiting God by limiting yourself. You say, “Oh, no, I am not proud.” Well, I hope so. But if truly you are not proud, then, you must be limiting God. We all do that unconsciously, from time to time.
Take a look at our opening scripture again: the Lord asks us to enlarge the place of our tents and to stretch our curtains wide. That is nothing but a call to expansion or enlargement. Now when do we talk about expansion? We usually talk about it when we are expecting more or when we start to have more than what our current location can hold—more people, more children, more facilities, more provisions and more of anything.
So when the Lord tells us to make room, He is simply saying, “Look, I want to fill you, but the place you have right now cannot hold what I am bringing. Therefore, begin to prepare for the increase that is coming. Begin to prepare for your promotion. Yes, begin to make ready for your uplifting. For you will surely spread out to the right and to the left.”
Now notice that, in that scripture, God also says, “Don’t hold back.” That means don’t limit yourself. See, as far as God is concerned, we are the ones who will define our own limitations in life. Remember that poor widow that went to Prophet Elisha for help: she was the one that determined how much of God’s blessings she received. (Cf. 2Kings 4:1-7) In the same vein, we are the ones who will determine the degree of increase we will experience at the hand of the Lord this month and for the remaining part of the year.
So I ask you, “What level of increase do you want to witness in your life this month? What exactly can you believe God for?” Now this is not something that you rush about; rather, it is something that you have to intelligently and patiently consider. And when you are done making your decision, then, you can begin that process of enlargement by: first, express your desires to God in prayers, and second, take steps in the direction of your prayers. (Phil 4:6, 2Thess 1:11)
Remember the woman with the issue of blood: she not only desired and decided to be well; she also pushed her way through the crowd to take her healing. May the Lord fulfil every good desire of yours and honour all your steps of faith in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
(Adapted from ‘House of Prayer’, Vol. 6, No. 8, April 2014)
