Stretch or Lose Mobility (3/5/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Isa 54:1-3.

My least favorite part of exercising is the tedious stretching portion. I know stretching is good for me, meant to keep me from hurting myself during the more strenuous activities that are about to follow. But I like the game. I'm eager to play. I want to hop on my bike and ride. I want to get straight into action. The problem is that I've caused myself injury at times by not doing a good job of stretching.

One of our major issues we have as we age is the loss of mobility and flexibility. We don't exercise like we did in the past, and our bodies are slower to properly stretch and become prepared for the effort. Also, stretching itself can cause pain. When we work those tired muscles and they don't respond "like they used to," we can get frustrated and sometimes quit right on the spot. I would like there to be a simpler way to maintain muscle tone now that I'm 57 years old. But Yahweh says I need persistence to do what's good and right for me. May we all trust him and do what's good for our bodies, minds, and spirits.

This passage instructs us to "stretch." It means to spread out or extend. Yahweh wants us to stretch so we're ready when he calls us into action. If we're not ready to move and act when he calls, we may not be able to reach the potential our Lord expects of us. Too many times we set down roots in places our Lord never intended us to and we're then unable stretch with him, or at best it takes a lot of effort to obey his call. What is your spiritual commitment level? What are you currently doing as active service unto your Lord and King?

When pitching a tent, it has to be anchored to the ground with tent pegs. If you have a large tent, you ensure that your pegs are strongly secured. Tents aren't normally used as permanent housing, but more often as temporary. Yahweh is telling the Israelites, and us, don't set your tent pegs as if they're immovable, or don't set them in concrete. Make sure your tent pegs can be easily removed and placed differently when you expand your territory. We're all being called to expand our influence and activity to further Yahweh's Kingdom.

Tent pegs can represent being stationary and immovable. Yahweh desires for his people to be able to extend our capacity, to grow and mature. We can always do more if it's his desire for us. We too often think that we've reached the end of our effectiveness or ability, denying the Spirit's ability to work in and through us. Yahweh wants us to remain mobile and flexible so we can move forward at his command. Our Creator designed us with the ability to keep expanding, so stay flexible. Don't judge yourself by your known weaknesses, trust that your Lord can and will strengthen you to do his work.

Our calling is never stationary. If our tent pegs are inflexible and immovable it's very difficult for us to expand with Yahweh's vision. History is important, but can also be a major hindrance to advancing the Kingdom. We should celebrate what Yahweh has done in and through us in the past, but we should also be celebrating how he's continuing to work in and through us. Learn from history, but live looking toward the future.

Immovable lives are often camped in places of fear. We've all experienced failures, and some of us live in the fear of future failures. Some of these failures were honest attempts to do our Father's will. Some of them are our willful actions gone wrong. Sort through them and get free of the burdens that keep you from moving with your Lord. We can get ourselves weighed down and make it hard to move by the way we react to our past failures. Sometimes we even make ungodly vows, declaring that we'll never do anything like that again.

When we get stuck in a memory of failure and the fear of repeating the mistake, it keeps us from moving with our Lord. The Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with grace to overcome this fear. Flexibility and mobility return when we renounce these ungodly vows we made in fear. Then we can move forward with Yahweh as he directs. As long as we'll surrender everything, especially our past mistakes and the fear they bring, we can stretch and expand as our Lord leads us.

Immovable lives are often camped in the past. What was once fresh revelation is now stale because it's not drawing on the resource of faith. Just because a method was productive in the past doesn't mean it will continue to be. If we refuse to change our methods because it's what we've always done, we'll eventually find ourselves operating strictly in the past. Our world is constantly moving and changing. It's part of life, yet we hate change. Again, we need to trust our Lord and obediently follow him into the future because by remaining in the past we'll miss out on many opportunities for Kingdom service.

Old methods are comfortable. Old methods are familiar. There's a real sense of security in repeating the old methods. But Yahweh is always doing a new work, and following him requires vision that's likely to take us out of our comfort zones. Trusting and believing that our Lord only wants what's best for us should be the source of our security and comfort, not anything of this temporary world.

We can also be intimidated into this by the group's expectation of our conformity to their ways. How can we hear fresh and innovative words from the Holy Spirit when we're trying to conform to human expectations? Our differences reflect the creative genius of Yahweh. The only conforming we should be doing is trying to conform to the image of Jesus. There is compromise with the world that must be avoided at all costs, but there's also staying in tune with society so we can effectively reach them with the Gospel.

We need to have enough faith to trust Yahweh to do what he says he will. In this passage he tells the barren woman she'll have many children. She's not told to produce children herself, but that Yahweh will accomplish this impossible feat. His instruction is for his people to expand their space and that he'll be the one to fill it. This is very typical of what our Lord expects of us. He's looking for us to put forth a good effort in Kingdom service so that he can bless us and fulfill his promises to us.

In most cultures, a barren woman is looked down on as a disappointment to her husband and family. It's a major cause of embarrassment within these societies. Yahweh turns this all around by telling the barren woman she'll have more children than a husband could ever provide. Our Father says he can do this without human help. We need to consider that he's talking directly to us about our spiritual fruit. Do we have an empty basket? He can fill it. Is our tree barren? He can work the soil and nurture us to help us become fruitful.

Some churches almost demand that each of its members "lead" someone to Jesus to prove their faith. Many people sitting in the pews of these churches are intimidated and embarrassed because they feel something's wrong with them. Many Christians feel like a barren woman, never having brought forth seed that bore fruit for the Kingdom. Yahweh's advice is that we expand our vision to allow him to work through us. Much of our problem is rooted in our American sales pitch kind of evangelism. There's too much of an expectation that we can share our faith and seal the deal if we can only give the right sales pitch. This kind of thinking is extremely stressful to the introverts.

Yahweh said, "Enlarge the place of your tent." Prepare some new space for the new followers of Jesus I'll work through you to influence for my Kingdom. There are clear misconceptions about this in Christianity. The measure of who and what we are in Christ isn't just about us, but also about what we've allowed our Father to birth through us. He never said we had to also fill the tent. He said he would do that. We're to live giving of what we've received from our Lord. We're to work with what he provides, not generate our own stuff.

Salmon spend the last days of their lives battling upstream to spawn. They have an intuitive sense that they exist for the purpose of birthing new life. More Christians need to feel this way. Yahweh works with expandable tents. There's always room for more in the tents he provides for us. We won't run out of room if Yahweh is the one drawing people in. And he uses those who are flexible because they're ready for action and more able to change and grow with what the Holy Spirit is leading them to do.

Verse 2 includes "do not hold back." Don't limit what Yahweh wants to do through you. The Bible says we reap what we sow. The return we get on our spiritual investment is directly connected to what we give in service to our Lord. When we enlarge our space in response to his calling, Yahweh will expand our influence. Don't get the idea that he has to fill the space you determined to open up. Don't presume on your Lord God Almighty. Just be a good servant and obediently respond when he calls.

Faith is about concrete actions. It's not just believing in our heads. It's solid and requires us to stay stretched and flexible to receive in the capacity Yahweh is giving. We don't just believe and everything happens. We act in faith and then things begin to happen. Don't passively wait for Yahweh to move, prepare yourself to move with him by remaining spiritually young and agile.

Blessings & Peace, Mike