Strengthening Your Stakes: Preparing for What Only God Can See
By Hannah Benson
Bible Reading:
“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” (Isaiah 54:2 ESV).
God often does things we don’t expect.
As I read Isaiah 54 the other day, God showed me that He will often tell us to prepare for things He’s bringing us. In this passage, He tells a barren woman to expand her tent and strengthen her stakes for a family she doesn't even have yet. Our job isn’t to know the why but to prepare in obedience even when we don’t know what we are getting ready for. All we can do is walk in obedience even when we don’t know where the obedience will lead.
It reminds me of the parable Jesus told of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. When they went to meet the bridegroom, only 5 of the virgins took extra flasks of oil with them before they departed. The other 5 foolishly didn’t. They didn’t prepare.
Or in Genesis 6, when God commands Noah to build an ark. Do you think Noah might’ve thought it a bit strange, the command to build an ark when there wasn’t rain anywhere in sight? Not to mention the earth had never flooded before. Undoubtedly, the idea would’ve been a foreign concept to him.
But Noah chose to trust God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Hebrews 11:7).
I’m in a season right now where I don’t know where I’ll be in the next year, the next few months, or even next week. All I can see is what God has placed in front of me right now.
Think about it.
Noah didn’t build the ark in a day. It took decades of waking up, grabbing a hammer, and building one plank at a time. He didn’t see a drop of rain for years. He just saw the single wooden plank in front of him each day. He had to wait years for God’s promise and prophecy to be fulfilled. Perhaps Noah began to wonder if it would really happen or if he’d heard wrong.
When we think about Noah, we often envision the completed ark. But what we don’t see are the 50-75 years of backbreaking labor, years of faithfulness before the first drop of rain ever fell. He had to be faithful in the daily, ordinary tasks of building the ark before he ever fully understood the why of the assignment.
We are called to be faithful in the little things (Luke 16:10).
Think about it.
Noah spent more time building that ark, without seeing any results, than some of us have even been alive. Certainly more time than we’ve probably ever spent on a project.
Do you think Noah knew the full weight of the task he’d been asked to undertake?
Yet if he hadn’t trusted God’s word spoken to him, none of us would be here.
God used Noah’s faithfulness to save the world. If he hadn’t built the ark, his family would’ve drowned. If his family had drowned, the earth would have been wiped out, which means none of us would be here today.
Wow.
That’s pretty weighty to think about.
In Luke 12:48, Jesus tells us that to whom much is given, much will be required.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
While we might not be asked to build an ark that will preserve the population from dying out, we are asked in Matthew 28:19 (ESV) to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us.
Even if we are not called to save people physically, we are called to point them to the One Who can save them spiritually.
We often find we want the “much” more than we desire the “little.” We want the completed project, the fulfilled dream, the clear future, but God tests our hearts in the “little.” He looks at how we handle what He has already given us. We are called to be faithful in the small tasks we may consider “mundane” (answering an email, studying, folding laundry).
Think about it.
Remember God says that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).
Perhaps God keeps us in seasons of quiet, daily preparation because if He gave us the big platforms or massive answers to prayer before our character was tested in the small things, the weight of the responsibility would crush us. And how important those “small” things are even if we don’t realize it!
We may find it hard to believe when we’re folding another load of laundry or washing dishes, but remember Noah probably couldn’t fully imagine the importance of each part as he built the ark, one piece of wood, one layer of pitch and tar at a time.
Pray with me: Dear Father, thank You that Your plans are better than anything I could imagine. Forgive me for the times I lose sight of that. Help me to remember Noah’s decades of unseen faithfulness, and give me the strength to fulfill every task, no matter how mundane it may seem, with a heart of worship. Teach me to obey Your voice even when I don’t understand the why behind the assignment. I trust that You are preparing me for whatever You have next. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Join the conversation! Share how today’s devotional encouraged or challenged you in your walk with Christ.
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