As I have been meditating on Isaiah 54 some things have come to mind. I will share briefly these thoughts: I am realizing that I am always wanting everything to line up perfectly. I always want to have the perfect day, have the "perfect" life, the perfect relationship, the perfect car, etc. But, in that desiring for everything to be perfect I am pushing the need for God right out of my life. It shows little trust. Without thinking about it, I am saying "God I want my life to be so great that I don't need you". And obviously, that statement is wrong. However, I believe we say this in such subtle ways that we don't even realize it. IF we had the perfect family, would we have the deep need to pray for them? If we had the perfect, easy job, would we need to depend on God to get through our day? These are just questions I have been asking myself as I look at Isaiah 54. It says that the barren woman is blessed. But how can that be? How can it be that a woman who wants to have children is blessed if she cannot? I believe one of the reasons is because she will rely more on God. She will cry out to God for him to open her womb. It is an opportunity to cry out to the one who desires relationship. Just like Hannah in the bible- she cried out for a child, and God opened her womb. But the relationsip and dynamic that happened wouldn't have happened if she had had children with no problem- perhaps she wouldn't have even given God a second thought.
Here is Isaiah 54:1-9
“Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.
4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The Lord will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The Lord will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.
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