The following is an adaptation from Pastor Mark Evans' teaching entitled, "Sing, O Barren"

Do you have a spot in your life that just doesn't seem to flourish? No matter what you try, it always seems to go back to the way it was or you never seem to get anywhere with it. You are not alone. Everyone you know deals with the same things. It may be financial, it may be romantic, it may be a friendship. Whatever it is, we all fail.

BUT! That's never the end of the story. When we were cast out from the Garden of Eden, God did not leave us for good. Throughout time, you'll see God continually working and giving us second chances. Even in our failure, he tells us to sing! Isaiah 54 tells us "Sing, O barren, you who have not borne!" God tells us to "Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings..."

In our worship and praise, God promises us that we will "expand to the right and to the left" and we believe He's not referring to our stomachs. God encourages many times in the Bible that the "righteous will fall seven times, [but] they rise again" and that while circumstances may not seem like they're going to get any better, God's Word is what prevails. No matter how many times we fail, if we stay down, we truly have failed.

God knows we're going to fail but He also wants us to know that He is with us. This week, when you're feeling like a part of your life will just not grow, remember to sing.

Northwest Gold is a series of easy-to-digest samplings from the best Northwest teachings. To read more on this topic, check out the full teaching "Sing, O Barren" and also view more teachings like this on the BUILD sermon series page.