“Increase is coming, so enlarge your tent and add extensions to your dwelling. Hold nothing back! Make the tent ropes longer and the pegs stronger. Isaiah 54:2 (The Passion Translation, TPT)

Have you ever been in a season where you can feel God is stretching you? Maybe you’re in one right now. He stretches our faith and our endurance, and even our natural ability. Why does God do this to us? After all, stretching is not a comfortable thing to go through.

To answer this question, let’s look at a natural example to explain a supernatural principle. When we exercise or do some sort of work, it is wise to stretch first and loosen our muscles in preparation for what is ahead. It increases blood flow and gets us warmed up. We do this for a very good reason- so we don’t get hurt. If an athlete did not stretch before an event or contest, he runs the risk of serious injury. It could even mean the end of him ever participating in that sport again.

So, if we are going through a season of stetching, it is usually in preparation for what is ahead. God knows He has big things for us in the future, but we won’t be handle them if we are not ready- if our faith has not been stretched and tested beforehand. We will not be prepared for the next season, for the time of promotion and greater responsibility. When we go up a level in the spirit, we encounter new challenges and increased demonic resistance. We can’t go to the next level with our current level of faith, wisdom, ability, etc. Like the athlete who didn’t stretch, we would get hurt- maybe seriously.

God will stretch us and enlarge us so we have the capacity in our spirits to hold the power and anointing needed for the tasks ahead. It may be uncomfortable to go through the stretching season, but as we move into the next level of what God has for us, we will find it was worth it.