It's Tent Time

God has had me “camping” (ironically) in Isaiah 54:2. 

“Enlarge the place of your tent,

    stretch your tent curtains wide,

    do not hold back;

lengthen your cords,

    strengthen your stakes.”

As I read these familiar words, the Lord said “It’s tent time”. Line by line, the Lord began unpacking this word for those of us who are in seasons of experiencing unlikely growth. 

This verse and its context are so familiar to us that we often gloss over it. What is it to be in a “tent time” and what does the Word communicate about it? This verse and chapter mark a sharp turn in the book of Isaiah from oppression and dwindling to preparing for expansion and hope. God highlighting this word marks the same sort of shift in our own walk - from oppression and dwindling to preparing for expansion and hope.

Tent time is a time of heightened encounter. The tent (of meeting) used to be the place in which God would be encountered. Similarly, in our “tent time” seasons, there are five encounters we can have with the Lord as we prepare to grow. 

1. Enlarging the place of your tent:

God reminded me of when we moved from our first home to the home we now live in. We gained more space. We enlarged. When we brought all our things to our new home, it was stark. There was so much empty space. It wasn’t because we were dwindling, but the emptiness was, in fact, because we were growing. This word for “enlarge” (rachab) is the same word used in Proverbs 18:16 “… a man’s gift makes room for him”. It’s a picture of opening a door or making more space accessible because it’s needed for you to operate in all that God’s calling you into. At first, however, that enlarging or making room looks a lot like dwindling or emptying. Lots of pruning, endings, cancelled plans, etc. This is the empty space that results from an enlarged tent. It’s not actually less- it just feels empty because there is the same stuff in less space. There is now room to grow! This is the making room that precedes the “more”. Encountering God in this place looks like asking:

“Father, what places in my life seem like they are sparse or dwindling that you’re actually enlarging?”

2. Stretching your tent curtains wide:

In Biblical times, tents would have been made of animal skin. I’m no expert in ancient Hebrew tent curtains, but there are two possible ways this could have been done. The first is that the existing skin for the tent can be stretched. This is done with heat (the fire of the Holy Spirit), soaking (in Him and His Word), or filling (to overflow so our capacity is stretched). The second is adding more animal skin to expand the curtains. This would require sacrificing an animal. Spiritually, sometimes stretching takes soaking. Other times, stretching takes sacrifice (of time, resources, etc). Both of these things keep us pliable to get ready to grow and hold more. Encountering God in this place looks like asking: 

“Holy Spirit, how can I lean into the stretching that You’re doing in my life? What do I need to give to You or receive from you to accomplish this process?”

3. Don’t hold back:

This Hebrew word that’s translated “don’t hold back” (chasak) would have reminded its original hearers (who had heard and memorized early scripture) of the same word which was used when God commended Abraham for “not withholding” his only son. Abraham didn’t hold back Isaac because He knew God wouldn’t go back on His promise. He didn’t know how, but He knew God could be trusted to do it. For us, it’s a surrendering of a need to control, know, or understand the path because of the faith we have in the outcome. Encountering God in this place looks like asking:

“Lord, in what places am I holding on to my own way or understanding and holding back from You?”

4. Lengthen your cords:

Lengthening your cords in a tent implies stabilizing a space that holds more. If you lengthen your cords without increasing your area, you end up with a sagging structure. Lengthening implies increase. The interesting thing is that this word for lengthen (arak) is usually used to describe time. It’s translated as things like “delay, endure, survive”. This creates a very different picture. Lengthening our cords looks like patience. Persevere. Don’t give up. Outlast. THAT is how we lengthen. That is how we are made able to hold more. That is how we increase. Your time isn’t wasted. It’s creating increase.  Encountering God in this place looks like asking: 

“Jesus, what does it look like to persevere in this season? What “increase” is time creating?”

5. Strengthen your stakes:

To “strengthen” (chazaq) Biblically has little to do with the grit or striving we picture. It’s used in the context of installing gates, repairing, and objecting to breaches. When we let God “strengthen our stakes”, we are asking the Holy Spirit what to “let in” and what to shut our gates to. This is what fortifies us for growth, and it looks more like discernment. It looks like letting God repair and heal our hearts from previous breaches. It looks like objecting to any compromises that the enemy would seek access through. It’s a strength that comes from standing strong and not letting the wrong things get in or stay in our minds, hearts, and spirits. Just as stakes bring stability and keep a tent from being moved, our ability to be moved starts with what we allow in. Encountering God in this place looks like asking: 

“God, where does my heart need repair? What thoughts are creating breaches? What do you want to raise up boundaries against in my life in order to fortify me?”

To anyone in a tent time, be filled with joy and hope! He is blessing you with new eyes to see that the places that felt sparse are actually places of growth! He is blessing you to experience that stretching that looks like soaking in His promises and preparing to be filled. He has birthed faith in you to not hold back. Every area in which you’ve not quit is an area in which you’ve outlasted, and that outlasting is bringing increase. He is giving you eyes to see your gates and boundaries and align them with what is for your strengthening. Because before every big move, there is a tent time.