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.
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.
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
Isaiah 54:1-5 King James Version (KJV)
How many of us are ashamed of the past, of things we have done or said that have affected other people's lives? There is not one of us in moments of ignorance that haven't done that and carried the guilt, regret and shame of it. Here in this passage in Isaiah it talks about God removing the shame of our youth. Jesus wants to do that in each one of our lives, to take us from being a curse to being a blessing.
I remember one time when I first moved to Houston, still young in my faith, I was working at the courthouse and I would go sit on a park bench at lunch and read my Bible.
One such day a man came up to me in a trench coat and saw me reading. He asked me, "Have you given up everything for God?" I looked at him a little taken aback and replied, "I...think so, I sure want to."
"Well, do you have a car?" he asked. I said, "Yeah, I do." and he said, "Well then you haven't given everything up."
He continued his questions with, "Do you have a place to live?" I stopped for a moment and replied, "Yes I do." and he retorted that Jesus had no place to lay his head."
I replied, "Where do you live?" He shrugged and conveyed that he lived in a homeless shelter.
I asked him, "So you have a home too." We continued to go back and forth in this discussion of what he perceived that it meant to obey the scriptures. I said to myself, Lord, this can't be right.
I believe what Christ was really saying in those passages is to be strong and fearless in your devotion to Him.
When God puts something before you he desires you to take you from being a curse to being a blessing and our job is to simply be faithful where he has put us.
Be strong in courage trusting that there isn't anything that you need that He will not provide. Be salt and light right where he has you. In the job he has you in or in your home with your family He will make you a blessing!.
Some of you are the first to be saved in your family and to know Jesus in intimate personal relationship. Just as salt is a preservative, you are a preserver of your family by walking with Jesus.
He will do in and through you His perfect will for your life as you seek to love Him and those he has put around you. All of these things He will do as you faithfully abide in Him.
Where you once were a curse he will transform you into a blessing and that is just another reason to love Jesus more today.
Where you once were a curse he will transform you into a blessing and that is just another reason to love Jesus more today.
Smile and be encouraged that God loves you and is making you a blessing!
For further study today consider this video:
