“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”

Isaiah 54:1-3

Would you prefer to follow John’s example of leading thousands to Christ daily for 34 years? Or imitate Anne by discipling a few and teaching them to do the same? 
We need to consider that John’s method could lead to tremendous burn-out. To win that many people to Christ every day would need constant travel, an exhausting schedule and an army of people handling logistics. We don’t know anyone that could do this. It could also breed a sense of failure, because we often view the ministry with a high response as the model of success and most of us can’t repeat that. There is also a certain irresponsibility because it brings people to Christ but does not provides any resources to help them grow. It is like leaving a child unsupervised who then wanders into traffic with a high likelihood of getting hurt. 
Anne is an example of someone we can follow! Simply start to encourage one other person to join you on a learning journey with Jesus. They learn by imitating what you are doing.

Thirsty for More?

• Find a praise song that captures the rejoicing of Isaiah 54 and listen to it daily this week.

Here is a suggestion

Bursting into song…