By Rev. J. LorenRussell
“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 54:3,17 NKJV
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.”
When the book of Isaiah was written, somewhere between 700-690 BC, a childless woman was viewed as someone who was being punished by God or suffering the consequences of their sin. Because of her sins, Israel had been captured by the Chaldeans, unable to bear children, suffering and being punished by God. They thought the Lord had abandoned them. They had a reason to hang their heads. But Isaiah tells them to sing songs of praise and redemption even though they were barren. He says that they should break into loud and joyful singing because the Lord is going to restore His covenant promise to them.
Isaiah tells them that they were going to be blessed abundantly and would expand to the right and the left. They were told to enlarge their homes and spare no expense in doing so. They would soon be “bursting at the seams” with children and descendants who will occupy other nations and resettle ruined cities (vv. 3-4 NLT). Not only would they no longer be barren, no weapon formed against them would be successful, and God would condemn every tongue that spoke in judgment against them.
There is a lot of barrenness in believers today. Some might argue that barrenness is more widespread now than it was in Biblical times. But the God who gave grace, showed compassion, extended mercy and gave victory to the Israelites is the same God who wants to be gracious to His people today. He wants us to know that He has not abandoned us. We too, must sing joy and redemption songs while in the throes of despair. He will defeat every weapon and silence every tongue that comes against us. The same assurance that was true for them is true for us.
You can walk into your future with your head held high. Know that the same God who made the barren Israelites give birth to many children and be victorious in all they did, is the same God who will redeem, bless and give you victory in all your endeavors. “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” This is your heritage also. So keep your head up!
Be Blessed!
Rev. J. Loren Russell is President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial Strategy & Consulting; an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx; creator/host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Monday’s 8:00 – 10:00 PM (626-226-1448) and author of Matters of Faith: The Book, an eBook available at Smashwords.com.
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