Introduction:
On 28th
of May this year, the Lord put it my heart to write on barrenness. Since then I’ve
been wanting to write and started meditating on the word. While I was in the
process of reading through the Scripture and related articles, one chapter that
struck me the most was Isaiah 54. The Bible says in Isaiah 54 “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing - Isaiah 54:1
(KJV)”. I don’t think any woman who is barren would
even get a thought to sing. That’s what triggered a question in my mind which
said – Why would the Bible say so?
And while I was
pondering over that question, the Holy Spirit helped me understand what it
means to sing in barrenness, to cry aloud, to enlarge the tent, to lengthen the
cords and strengthen the stakes.
To start with,
lets define barrenness
Definition of Barrenness:
The dictionary
defines the word as:
- Incapable of producing offspring, seed, or fruit; sterile a barren tree
- An uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
- Unproductive
Lets get into what
the Holy spirit taught me on Isaiah 54. I would call this section with a title
“Way the way out of Barrenness” – (Ref: Isaiah 54
& Gal 4:27)
- Break forth into Singing (54:1a):
The
Bible says that God’s people sang when God delivered them from the clutches of
the enemy & gave them victory, for instance, Moses and his people sang to
the Lord in Exodus 15 when God almighty gave them triumph over Pharaoh and his
horse riders. King Jehoshaphat appoints singers to praise the Lord in 2 Chronicles
20th chapter so that ammonites and Moabites would be defeated. King
Hezekiah and his priests sang praise unto the Lord in 2 Chronicles chapter 29
for sanctification of the house of the Lord. King David Praised the Lord
through Psalms as God delivered him as well from his enemies.
Most
of these men of God did not crib but rather they praised God in all
circumstances. Be it before the toughest situation or after it, they ensured
that they offered their praises to God and sang without ceasing. When we break
forth in singing, God comes down amidst of us and takes complete control over
our situation. And when we give him the control, he will work in ways that we
cannot even imagine. Just know that its going to be a supernatural miracle
which is beyond human thoughts and imagination. That is why the Bible says “No
eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has ever conceived the things that God
has for those who love him”
Be
it childlessness or barrenness in spiritual life where one feels parched, just
commit you self and reach out to God even as your read this message. He will
surely make you a fertile land by watering it with his loving kindness and
tender mercies. I am sure even as you read this message you will be healed and
God will intervene and unleash the impossible.
- Cry Aloud (54:1b):
The
Bible says that God can never shut his ears towards his people when we cry out
bitterly. In Exodus chapter 2, when the Israelites cried out for deliverance,
God was forced to hear the complaints and had to set them free from the bondage's. In 1 Sam 7th chapter, Prophet Samuel and his people cried
unto the Lord that God will save them from the Philistines. In Esther 4,
Mordecai cried with a loud and bitter cry and rent his cloths for his people
(Jews) to be saved from the plan of Haman. Through these instances we see that
God cares for his people when we cry out to him, the Bible also says that he
stores our tears in a bottle and will never let our enemies oppress us. In our
barrenness when we cry out to the Lord, he will answer us, he will shut the
mouth of the people who insulted us and kept us aloof. Behold, the door which
he has kept open, no man can shut it as it says in the book of revelation.
- Enlarge the place of thy tent (54:2a)
Here
enlarging the place of tent indicates our prayer life. We need to extent the
time of prayer. We need to spend quality time in his presence. Enlarging tents
is just a simple prayer and its not a selfish prayer. It is a selfless prayer
for someone else to be healed, for someone else to be set free. Abraham was a
selfless man, he interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah to be saved from God’s
wrath. This is the attitude that God’s is expecting out of us. This aspect
plays an important role in moving from being Barrenness to productiveness or
growth.
- Strengthen thy stakes :
Amidst
of this travail God instructs us to strengthen ourselves with a firm mind, as
the scripture says in Mat 26:41 “The
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. In this journey we need immense
strength to go on, as we will be discouraged by people’s talk and their behavior towards us. Now the question is, “How
do I get this strength?” – the answer is “Joy of the Lord is our strength”
(Neh 8:10c). If we are joyful in the Lord by claiming his promises and shun the
words of the enemy our strength will remain strong in him. When we strengthen
ourselves with the Word of God
Examples from the Bible who made it through
their barrenness :
- Sarah (Genesis 21:6-7 and Hebrews 11:11-12),
- Rebekah (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 30:22-23),
- Manoah's wife (Judges 13:2-3+24),
- Hannah (1 Samuel, chapter one),
- The Shunammite (2 Kings 4:14-17),
- And Elizabeth (Luke, chapter one).
Conclusion :
The bottom-line of
this message is “God can change anything”, even the storm of the sea had to
obey him. If a mere storm can hearken unto his voice, why not we? Lets believe
in the words of him that died on the
Cross of Calvary for the sake of us.
To conclude, I always utter the below verse to
myself when I think of how great Jesus has been in my life. For a King of Kings
like him, there was no need to lay down his life. But he did. That’s what
amazes me whenever I think of him.
“WHAT AM I THAT
THOU ART MINDFUL OF ME”
