Isaiah 54:2 says, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame:
Isaiah 54:2-4a in the Message Version of the Bible says, “Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep. You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities. Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.
Here is a word of prophecy. “For I am in the process, says the Lord, of bringing a great revolution. And I am positioning you for expansion. You must be willing to lengthen the cords, strengthen the stakes, and enlarge the borders of your vision to even embrace the possibilities that I see in you.
For this is a day in your history, says the Lord, like no other day before. Surely, I have set you up, and you have heard my voice and seen the beginnings of my way going forth to reap a harvest of souls. And do not fear in your hearts that what you are doing is not producing eternal results, because the seed is being scattered far and wide.”
The day and time we live in is the start of a great revolution for the Kingdom of God. In the text, the Children of Israel had been in Babylonian exile (held captive by the Babylonians). Their captivity meant more than oppression for Israel; it meant shame, disgrace, and humiliation. From what we read in Isaiah, God promises a glorious release from exile, captivity, shame, disgrace, and embarrassment.
The children of Israel felt that way because things in their cities were not as they once were in their glory days. Also, they feared that in the future, their labor wouldn’t produce a fruitful harvest as they had expected.
But God promised in the text that the curse and shame of barrenness would be so completely broken, and Israel would be so fruitful that they would have to expand their living space. This would be of particular comfort to the returning Babylonian exiles, who felt themselves small in number and weak. This promise would strengthen them.
Here, the LORD promises rescue from Israel’s shame. “Shame…disgrace…humiliated” in the Hebrew are synonymous with the idea of disappointed hopes, the embarrassment of expecting – even publicly announcing – one thing and then reaping another.
God is saying, Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t focus on the way things look now. Instead, think bigger and prepare for what I am telling you that I will do in your life. Have faith!
I used to work for Fred’s Stores Inc. at the home office in Memphis, TN. In 2001, there was excitement surrounding the company because we were positioning ourselves for expansion. The company had plans to expand our businesses from the Southeast U.S. to the north and as far west as California by 2007. However, through poor planning (lack of preparation), lack of identity, and the company’s inability to recognize its niche in the market, it stopped growing by 2005. After continuing to close stores that had just opened a couple years prior, unfortunately, the entire company folded on October 30, 2019.
The Lord not only wants us to be excited about His promises for expansion but make preparation for them (position ourselves to receive). When Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves in Matthew 14:13-21, everyone was chasing after Him, which is a good place to be when you are positioning yourself for what God has for you. It grew late in the evening, and the people were still hanging out with Jesus. The disciples suggested that Jesus send the people away to get something to eat, but Jesus, caring about the people’s welfare, told the disciples to give them some food instead. The disciples replied, “We only have two fish and five loaves of bread.” It is not enough to feed the whole crowd.
In our eyes, we are never good enough, and we look at our circumstances from a place of lack, logic, and reasoning. It was common sense to see that a meal the disciples took from a boy in the crowd (John 6:9) wouldn’t feed everybody. But the Lord is not worried about how things look in the natural. He can take what we see as little and make something great.
He wants to do the same in your life, within your family, on your job, and throughout the community. He wants us to believe in Him as the God who can make something great out of the insignificant. Then, have faith enough to prepare for the increase. Prepare for His grace to be poured out, for reconciliation, for a turnaround, for the empty to be made whole, and for much to be made out of little.
The things we are looking for God to bless our families with and enhance our circumstances are already in our possession.
For instance, I wanted to be a writer and felt God impress me to do so, but my computer was broken. So, I told the Lord, I would obey Him (when) He blesses me with a computer. Less than two weeks later, my sister gifted me a laptop for Christmas. Once the computer was in my hands, I had to start typing, and God has dramatically multiplied the work of my hands. As a result, I am paid to write regularly and have published 7 books, even an Amazon Bestseller.
The voice is there; you’ve just got to start singing. The food is there; you have to cook it. The instruments are there; you’ve just got to play them. The tools are there; you have to use them. The ingredients are there; you’ve got to bake them. The Lord will bless and multiply the practical things that we bring to the table. We need to position ourselves for expansion.
He could make something out of nothing, but the Lord would rather bless what is already in our hands. The Kingdom of God runs on the concept of sowing and reaping. We need to cast our seeds (the seemingly insignificant thing we possess) and watch God expand the harvest.
Mark 4:18-20 in the Message Bible says, “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. 20 “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”
Surrender your life to Jesus by placing your faith in Him. See, won’t He turn what was messy and hopeless into a beautiful message of hope. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I want to challenge you to embrace what God desires to do in your lives and see if He won’t move in ways, you never expected. By doing so, you are positioning yourself for expansion.
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Take God Out of the Box 