Rest, Rejoice, then Receive

"Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54: 1)

When I first read this verse, I thought that Isaiah was being metaphorical.

The next few verses put aside that misconception:

"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
"For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." (Isaiah 54: 2-3)

This is no metaphor. This is not a call to think happy thoughts and pretend. Isaiah,  by the power of the Holy Spirit, is telling the barren woman to sing.

This is not the first time that God has moved in the life of a barren woman. Sarah (Hebrews 11: 11),

Many of us believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but then we think that we are on our own to get by in life. Of course, because Jesus Christ is our life (Colossians 3: 4), we do not have to wait for the good life -- in Christ, we have life, and that more abundantly.

The problem for many of us, though, is that we want our problems resolved, then we will rest and rejoice.

God does not work that way.

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." (Romans 14: 17)

He wants us to rest and receive His righteousness as a gift (Romans 5: 17), the fruit of which is peace (wholeness, prosperity, and all the rest). Because God is not slack concerning His promises, we rejoice that we have received pardon from all our sins, and thus we break forth in joy.

When we rest in the gift that we have in Christ Jesus, then we better believe that He will give us all things with Him (Romans 8: 31-32)

It is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11: 6), for we receive the grace of God by faith. When we break forth in song, seeing the unseen by faith, just like the barren woman rejoices because she believes that God will move in her life, God will break forth in your life.

Stop postponing your rest and rejoicing in Christ! Then you will receive, knowing and believing that He has already moved in your life.