I have loved seeing more people over these last few months. Meeting ‘face to face’ with family and friends has been fantastic.

Alongside that it’s been so good to re-connect with many in our church community as we have met on Sundays.

I was chatting to someone in the church about how they were doing. They said that their world had shrunk because of lockdown. In recent months they had been nervous about doing things which pre-covid they wouldn’t have given a second thought about.

This is understandable, as we all want to be ‘covid safe’ as much as possible. However, they acknowledged that, due to the lockdowns, a lack of confidence had crept in.

I understood what they were saying, as I have experienced some of that as well. I then read this in the Bible from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah...

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”

— Isaiah 54:2 The NIV Bible

Isaiah prophesied this to Israel when they were about to be invaded and defeated. It was a dark time in their history. God spoke to the prophet a message of hope for the future.

As I read this verse, I felt like there was a nudge from God, as if he was speaking to me, right here and now! Out of the ‘dark place’ of the last 18 months God was saying: ‘don’t settle for where things are at, now is the time to move out again’.

So, what does ‘enlarging the place of your tent’ look like, it could be...

daily making room to speak and listen to God?
inviting people over for a meal?
visiting someone, you’ve not seen in a while?
re-attending church activities?
doing something new?

I don’t know what it may look like for you, but I do believe that God has spoken to me, so I need to respond. Perhaps, He may also be speaking to you too?

God bless

Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader