Fruitful and not barren
Sing, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, you who have never been in labor. For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband,” says the Lord. “Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities. “Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54:1-5 NLT
We can choose to serve God by drawing on the energy of our own good intentions. The other option is to rely on God’s power working within even through our weaknesses. The former will make us look good, feel good, act good, and talk good. Yet, it is not lasting and enduring. The latter is through the reliance in the power of the Holy Spirit. It might seem impractical but He will make us fruitful. The gospel proclaimed that Christ took our failure to the cross and once we receive the life He offers, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is in us. “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). This is how we will serve God and we will thrive forever. This is what Isaiah foresees from the text. It is God’s grace spreading to the very ends of the earth. Once, we were barren and unfruitful but because of what God will accomplish at the cross, we can “be bursting at the seams” (Isaiah 54:3). This is how God had purposed our lives to be. We do not have to be ashamed about the past because Christ died for our past. The gospel changes our outlook in life. No more striving to gain recognition from God for it is His working within that matter. It is now God’s joyful power working within for His greater glory that creates our energetic service that will result to others knowing Him and that is what we should prefer. What we cannot do, God will do mightily beyond ourselves. All He asks of us is to join Him at His work and trust Him. Let us experience God’s miracle power working in us.
Blessings,
