The Rested SoulSample

Enlarge Your Hope

At some point in my long battle with anxiety, I began to wonder if my future was ruined. There were weeks when my hope for restoration shriveled. Sometimes, the enemy whispered that I was now unworthy.

And I believed him.

Maybe you feel that way. Maybe you feel like your future is now damaged. That you are yourself damaged. If somewhere in your deepest heart you have come to the conclusion that you are doomed to remain in this pit, small and vulnerable for the rest of your life, listen to Isaiah’s words:

Enlarge the place of your tent!

Isaiah said these words to Judah when the kingdom was in a state of helpless captivity. When God’s people were at their most broken.

When they felt utterly vanquished

It is one of the most counterintuitive promises of God to His people. In the midst of their shattered and small lives, He promised them an increase.

Don’t measure your future by this present experience, Isaiah was promising. Get ready to grow. Get ready to be enlarged. Get ready to bear fruit. The inference of the whole passage is that Israel will be more than it was before. You and I need to receive this promise for our own lives.

This message is as true for you as it was for captive Judah.

How can I make this claim? Because years before this prophecy, Isaiah made another prediction about the coming Messiah. This prediction was for all who belong to that Messiah, including you and me: “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9:7).

Did you notice the word increase in that promise? When you belong to Jesus, His kingdom is steadily increasing within you.

Like captive Israel you are invited to enlarge your expectations of God’s kingdom within you because you belong to the Prince of Peace.

Right now, in this dark place, a part of you is being enlarged. Strengthened to carry the weight of the increase that God has for you. Even though you are going through a diminished season, you can trust that God is laying a foundation in that valley for a greater glory in your life.

In every life, this will work out differently. But my friend, your spirit is increasing in this dark valley. When you emerge from it, you may still feel vulnerable. You may feel fragile. But there will be an increase in you that has been wrought by the Spirit of God.

It may be an increase in understanding. In healing. In knowledge. In patience. In grace. In godliness. You may find an increase in opportunities, in joy, in influence.

God is increasing His influence in you in order to increase His influence through you.

One thing you can bank on: Jesus plans to enlarge your life by governing it through this hard season. So invite Him to take over the full government of your heart during this time. Give Him permission to have His way. Whatever your increase may look like, you will be able to bless others with it. In this way, this present darkness, this fang of anxiety, will also be the servant of Christ. You can enlarge your hope without fearing disappointment.