Make Room
Hi friends!
Lately I keep coming across scriptures and stories about people who made the simple decision to make room for God in their lives and it changed everything. In Luke 10:38 it says that “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” We see later that Jesus develops a beautiful relationship with these two sisters, Martha and Mary, because they invited Him into their home. They loved spending time with Him in their home (notice how close they wanted to be to Him… they weren’t satisfied with just experiencing Him at church, they wanted Him to be in their HOME). We see later in John 10 that Jesus even raises their brother from the dead (perks of being best friends with Jesus I guess! lol)
Today, I read this powerful passage in Isaiah 54:2-4 (MSG):
“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.”
In order to really understand the power of this text, we have to understand the context of it. Isaiah is pronouncing to God’s people the future blessing that they are going to be experiencing. For years, the people of God have been in exile as a result of their own disobedience. They have been in a dark place… the darkest place of their lives. They have felt like prisoners to their past, and somewhere along the way, people got comfortable in captivity (sometimes living bound is easier than living with the responsibility that comes with freedom). But in these verses, God is reminding His people about His promise of restoration, redemption, and reconciliation.
Essentially, what the Lord is saying through the Prophet Isaiah is, “hey get ready, because it’s not always going to be like this. Make preparations, start clearing out your tents, start clearing out those old habits and old mindsets because I am going to do a new thing in your life. You can’t look like the old when you walk into the new. The places in your life that were once empty, I’m going to fill, but you have to be ready.”
(That’s the CIV: Carla International Version. Not a literal translation, but you get the point!)
Notice how Isaiah says “drive the tent pegs deep.” What does that mean? He is telling the people that before they can go wider, they have to go deeper. You’ll only be able to grow as wide or as high as your spirit is deep. You’ll also see that this scripture is full of action - He’s telling the people to clear the ground, make the tents larger, spread out, think big - this is all indicative of PRESENT PREPARATION FOR FUTURE PROMISE.
Friends, we have to get this: Preparation ALWAYS precedes restoration and multiplication.
The question isn’t does God want to bless you, the question is are you ready to handle His blessing? Can He trust you to steward what He wants to give you?
I want to encourage you to ask yourself this question as we end this year and get ready for the new year. In what ways do you need to prepare, practically and spiritually, for what God wants to do in your life? What attitudes need to shift? What habits do you need to destroy and what habits do you need to develop? How do you need to change your thought life? In what ways can you go DEEPER with Him so your spiritual capacity can handle when He takes you HIGHER?
I hope you were as encouraged today by this scripture as I was! As we go through the rest of this week and finish out this year, let’s be intentional about MAKING ROOM for what God wants to do in us and through us.
Love you friends!!
XOXO, C
