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…
Isaiah 54:2
I understand that this verse is technically dealing with a restored Israel, and not with church-age Christians. But, I also think that the application is the same in this case: we are supposed to live “big.”
By “living big,” I don’t mean that we are to live extravagantly or beyond our means. I don’t mean that we are to live our lives in the pursuit of material things or fleshly desires. By “living big,” I mean that we are supposed to live for a purpose greater than ourselves. And that we should always be wanting more of the Lord, and more of His Word.
Sometimes we get comfortable in our routines. I know I am as guilty of that as anybody. I love getting into a nice, comfortable “rut.” But sometimes God wants us to “enlarge thy tent, and stretch forth the curtain of thine habitation.” Sometimes the Lord wants more for us than we maybe want for ourselves. He wants us to be closer to Him than we are. He wants us to love Him (and others) more than we do. In order to do those things, we have to prepare ourselves.
He also tells us to “spare not.” The Bible is full of “overanswered prayers.” Isaiah spoke of Him “pouring water on him that is thirsty.” If we open our mouths, He will fill them. He has promised that, if we will call upon Him, He will show us great and mighty things. (Jeremiah 33:3) The promises are there, but will we take them? Will we have the faith to “enlarge our tents?” Will we have the faith to live a “big” life for Him?
Justified Freely 
Posted by Debbie on December 27, 2010 at 11:41 am
Thank you for helping me think and pray about God wanting more for me than I do for myself! Great post!
Posted by justifiedfreely on December 28, 2010 at 9:45 am
It’s something that I have thought of from time to time- how often I think that I can control my life better than God can. It’s ridiculous, but I suppose that is the nature of the flesh.
Posted by Ann on December 27, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Thank you much
Your post reminds me of the prayer Jabez prayed … There really is nothing too hard for God. Sometimes He has such big plans for us but we insist on crawling along like snails instead of taking the leaps and bounds He’s equipped us for!
Bless you for sharing
ann
Posted by justifiedfreely on December 28, 2010 at 9:48 am
“Crawling along like snails”- I love that! 🙂 I know that He wants so much more for me than I want for myself, but it’s just a matter of giving up control, which is sometimes hard to do.