Expanding Tent Pegs.
As followers of Jesus and as his church, we will go through cycles of expanding our tent pegs. As much as we prune back, we also stretch and grow. When we press in to know the Lord, press hard into him, it comes with stretching. Jabez prayed for the Lord to expand his territory. Isaiah prophesied to Israel that the time had come to expand her tents. She would no longer be forsaken or barren, but fruitful—fulfilled. If we are the temple (tent) of the Lord, we can be certain that we will go through expansions. It may be painful and uncomfortable as we pry up our tent pegs from the ground, stretch the tent taut, and break the pegs through new ground. Saying yes to the new means letting go of what has been, even if we’ve grown accustomed to it. As sure as Jabez’s name means “born in pain,” there is pain in the stretch, discomfort as we expand the boundaries. But. Don’t hold back. Sing and shout with joy because with it comes more of the Lord, his blessing, his fruit in us. It comes with more of him.
Isaiah 54:1-3
Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud…“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
…his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!”
