By Tom Shanklin

“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, NKJV)

It’s time to expand and not to contract. It’s time for greater things in your life and the kingdom of God. It’s time to plan, not with what is in your hand, but with that which is in the hand of God. Go! Go! Go!

Isaiah 54 is the follow-up to Isaiah 53, where we learn about what has been accomplished for us by Jesus Christ on the cross. He took our sins. He took our sickness and pain. He bore our iniquity. He made us righteous. As a result, we can now walk in the glorious promises of Isaiah 54.

If your life has been barren and empty, no worries. You will have more fruit than the person who has everything. You will bear spiritual children. Your life will be a dynamo for God because of the covenant of peace between you and God. Now you are a child of God. Now, you are joined to the Lord. He says that without Him, you can do nothing. But now you have Him in your life, and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. It’s time to expand your thinking and look at the possibilities rather than the impossibilities.

Satan is continually doing all he can to get us to look at the negative side of life. He wants us to focus on our problems and the troubles of this world. He wants us to lose hope and become defeated in our minds. 

Once our mind goes to the dark side, our vision is clouded, and we lose the potential for fruitfulness. The circumstances of life can do that, but we do not need to allow it to happen. We can find hope and a vision for the future in the Word of God. As Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free!”

So when the circumstances of life are against you, and your mind wants to drift to the dark side, remember, you are in a relationship with the God of the universe. You are married to Him, and regardless of what the enemy says, your life will be fruitful for the Lord. 

Finding a Way Out of Hopelessness

When the pandemic struck the world in 2020, things became difficult for many ministries. Those who travel had their movement greatly restricted. Local churches were under attack with confusion, division, and lack. Heads were swimming, and hopelessness was attacking many ministers.

Our friend, Missionary Stan Strunc of In His Love Ministries in the UK was among those whose ministry was stymied. He and his wife, Sarah, were struck with a severe sickness (likely Covid) and were out of commission for a time. Like others, his movement was restricted, and his traveling ministry was put on hold. But he took the opportunity to begin making videos, which he published on YouTube.

He did Bible teachings on many subjects and uploaded new videos several times a week. He was constantly studying, teaching, and uploading videos. Instead of submitting to the contraction of the season, he continued to enlarge the place of his tent and stretch forth the curtains of his dwelling.

Stan, who is from the Czech Republic, is fluent in English, but his first language is Czech, so he decided to make his videos in Czech. As he continued to minister online, his audience began to grow. People in the Czech Republic, along with those from other nations where Czech is understood, began to feed on his teaching. Some received Christ. Others began to find great strength and encouragement from the Word of God.

Then as travel restrictions were relaxed, Stan began to get invitations to minister in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other nations. In 2022, he traveled to central Europe several times, ministering in churches, home groups, and other venues. Central Europe is now wide open to his ministry.

The situation he was facing at the beginning of the pandemic could have easily caused him to fall into depression, discouragement, and stagnation. But instead, he took the steps to do would he could in a difficult situation. Stan told me that the pandemic actually turned out to the good for him and his ministry. While people were in their homes and not able to work or move about, they turned their eyes to YouTube, and because of the needs in their lives, they had a tremendous hunger for the Word of God. 

It’s Time to Raise Your Expectancy

God can do the same in your situation, whatever it is. It’s time to expand! It is time to look to the God of heaven to fill us with creative ideas to reach more people for Him. It is time to walk out the vision of your heart. Start a new business if God is leading you. Start a new church. Expand your outreach to new nations. Start sharing Christ with a new boldness and expectation.

God spoke through Isaiah to lengthen your cords AND strengthen your stakes. in other words, get a bigger tent. There is much to do. But remember, you must not only stretch your cords, but you must also strengthen your stakes.

it takes strength to go against the grain, to expand when everything in the natural says contract. It takes strength from the Lord to take on new tasks and expect to finish them. This strength comes from your relationship with Him. It comes as you feed on His Word and are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 

If we are going to thrive in these difficult times, we are going to need a strong devotional life. We will need to spend time feeding on God’s Word. We will need to have a prayer life that begins in the morning and continues throughout the day. We are going to need to walk in the light of God’s Word and the power of His love. As the scripture says, they that know their God will do exploits. This will come, not as a religious duty, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as we yield ourselves to the Lord.

This doesn’t mean you should get yourself in debt to finance your expansion. Use your faith for the resources you need. God is your source. Wherever the Lord guides, He provides!

You will expand to the right and the left, and your ministry will be extended by your descendants, both spiritual and natural. Not only you, but the people you minister to will go forth and inherit the nations.

So, as we look ahead to 2023, let’s raise our expectancy. Let’s lift our eyes off the troubles around us and see the glorious possibilities that are before us. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, for you and the Lord are about to do great things.

May the Lord expand your territory in 2023!