Barrenness and Fruitfulness: The Link

“‘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” Isaiah 54: 1.

Isaiah 54 is essentially about the restoration of God’s people after they had been judged for their sin. And a reminder of His beautiful promise to them. And in this verse, He’s encouraging them to rejoice in their pain.

To read the passage for context, click here.

A Hard Path

Every Christian wants fruitfulness, and to be used by God in some meaningful way. But when James and John requested the favor of sitting at Jesus’ right and left hand this was His response: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” Mathew 20: 22.

And when Elijah wanted a double portion of Elijah’s anointing, Elijah’s response was “You have asked a hard thing” 2 Kings 2: 10.

And in our passage today, we see that the fruitful woman is both barren and alone. To not have either a husband or children was the worst thing a woman could endure in ancient times. And if we’re honest, I think we would come to the same conclusion even in our modern, so-called liberated society.

The Reward of Barrenness

But there is a compensation. And this recompense will not be given to the woman with a husband and children, so to speak. The blessing of spiritual fruitfulness and the ability to glorify God in a great way is given to those who haven’t had every natural advantage and earthly pleasure.

Joyce Meyer, my hero in the faith, is a good example. She was and still is very fruitful in her ministry. And she glorifies God as much as anyone could. But she certainly didn’t have everything going for her in the beginning.

She was sexually abused throughout her entire childhood. Her first husband cheated on and abandoned her. And then she married a man that she herself acknowledges she is far from compatible with. Her life, especially in her younger years, was not easy or pleasant or comfortable.

But her reward has been great.

I know of someone else in ministry with a similar gift. But they’ve had a nice, pleasant, fairly comfortable life. They did not experience a difficult, traumatic childhood. Their children are doing well, they are in good health, and their personality is ideally suited to their spouse.

What Price Glory?

But neither have they had great spiritual fruitfulness or glory. This is a generalization, and oversimplification, of course. But there is a principle here.

There is a price to pay for fruitfulness, glory and greatness. And I think it’s often the barrenness that the fruitful have experienced that motivates and inspires them to greatness.

They’ve had so much pain and suffering that now they’re willing to do whatever it takes to see something good come out of it.

To read another post related to Barrenness and Fruitfulness: The Link, see How to Develop the Fruit of the Spirit in the Valleys of Life.