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I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Galatians 4; Genesis 16; 21; Isaiah 54.
Isaiah 54:1-8
“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 “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.
3 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.4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
I can still recall the feeling of relief. The sweat chloride test resuIt was negative. As in good. As in no cystic fibrosis. It was as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. There were so many positive implications to that news. No daily clapping to loosen phlegm. No expensive medications to administer. No phone calls to sisters with the grave news that since both of us were carriers of the dread disease, it was likely they were too. Just relief. I still sigh as I recall that day.
It’s one thing to say it’s not too late; that as long as there’s life, there’s hope. It’s quite another to see a complete reversal of fortune. The blind man seeing. Healed. The lost one found. The last one is first. The loser becomes the winner.
This is the message of Isaiah 54. It is a reference to Sarah, who had been barren for many many years, who bore a son. And not just any son: the son of the promise. Through this child the seed of Abraham would be continued. And the promise to Abraham, “In you all the nations of the world will be blessed,” would continue to unfold.
So what do we do in the face of such good news? We praise God. We rejoice in his faithful work in and through us. But not only so. We expand the realm of our dwelling. We enlarge our influence and our testimony to God’s faithfulness, grace, goodness, and love.
This is the good news of God. This is the LORD’s doing. This is God’s redemption. His doing. For all this it is our duty to thank, praise, serve and obey him. Because of his redemption we may live under Christ in his kingdom and serve him eternally. This is not only for us, it is for all whom the Lord will call to himself. We enlarge God’s reign and rule of grace and faith because he has had compassion on us with his everlasting love.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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