“Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD. “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited”. Isaiah 54:1-3
The instruction to enlarge your tent is not a suggestion but a command. A command from God demands obedience. John 2 records the turning of water into wine by Jesus during a wedding in Cana. From that story and the instruction in John 2:5, we understand that obedience to God’s instruction opens the door to the miraculous. One of the reasons God instructs the person expecting something great from him to enlarge his or her tent is because you cannot receive from God beyond your capacity to do so. In 2Kings 4:1-7 we read of a widow whose late husband left her with a huge debt and was on the verge of losing her children to the creditors. The only thing she had was a pot of oil. She came to prophet Elisha who instructed her to borrow vessels. She was specifically told not to borrow a few vessels. As long as she had empty vessels the oil kept multiplying. When she had no more empty vessels the oil ceased from multiplying. You see she could not receive more than she had the capacity to receive. “When the containers were all full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” And he said to her, “There is not a one left.” Then the oil stopped [multiplying].” 2Kings 4:6. When you enlarge your capacity to receive you enlarge the flow of blessing to and through you. The woman was able to use what she received to pay her debt and take care of herself and her children. However, if she has enlarged her capacity more than she did, as she was instructed by the man of God (by borrowing more containers than she did), the oil would have kept multiplying and she wound have had more than enough not only to meet her needs but to help others.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
It is the weakness of faith that makes a man lie pouring on the difficulties in the way of a promise of God……..Matthew Henry
