There was another famine in the land, in addition to the one that occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines. The Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you about; stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham’” (Genesis 26:1-3). One may wonder in his heart why God doesn’t just make all seasons favorable, since He is the God of all seasons. Now, the answer to that dilemma is in the question. All seasons are indeed favorable because each is designed to bring glory to God and to edify man – to point man back to his Creator. The Scripture above opened with “another famine in the land, in addition to…” This means no matter what, as long as we are on this earth, there will always be seasons of plenty, famine, down turns and the likes. To underscore this, after the flood, the Lord declared “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease” (Genesis 8:22). This was the condition for life to begin and continue on the earth after the devastation of the flood. Thus, it is His design and sovereign will that these seasons should be, and be instrumental to grow His children to maturity in obedience: “though a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). This tells us that we will indeed go through life’s challenges, but we will come out victorious. Please understand that our victory is predicated on what we do with the times we are presented with: Our obedience to His commands at such times glorifies Him and edifies us.
As we walk with the Lord, He directs our paths, showing us which way to go. When faced with dire situations, just as Isaac faced, to whom do we turn to? Where do we go for help? In fact, who is our FIRST point of call at the sign of trouble beyond our control? The answers to these questions point to the state of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaac’s situation, God interrupted him before he could think of going to Egypt like his father. Praise God, Isaac listened. Looking at the situation he was in, common sense would have dictated that he heads for a land not affected by the famine, even if it is Egypt. So many times, when we are faced with dire situations, we allow our ‘common sense’ to dictate to us; and we rationalize it by quoting Scriptures, for instance: “If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct” (Ecclesiastes 10:10, KJV). Many out of haste, fear, impatience have moved from their secure positions of power and advancement in the Lord to positions of insecurity and the likes. If you do not agree with this, if I may ask you: how many times have you taken a path because it was ‘common sense’ (expedient), wise to do so at the time, only to realize a few steps down the path it was a wrong move? Beloved, like Isaac, it is true that the Lord had pronounced amazing promises to you concerning your life. But how is your obedience to His instructions? Do you only obey Him when it is convenient, and at other times, you obey your common sense and ‘wisdom is profitable to direct’ theory? The desire of God for us is that we will not only carry His Promises, we will carry His Fulfillment. When we remain in the place He wants us to remain, He blesses us – the Promise made to us is Fulfilled! But when we shift positions, the Promise is not fulfilled. It is like being pregnant without any hope of giving birth! Beloved, God didn’t change His mind, we moved! Have you allowed the dictates of your needs, emotions or the circumstances you had found yourself caused you to move from where God placed you? Abraham moved and returned with Hagar – that move has remained a thorn in the flesh of his descendants to this day! Every time we move to where we had not been assigned to, there is always an ‘Hagar’ that dogs our steps going forward. Beloved, remain planted in Him and be moved by Him, not by your needs, emotions or the winds of circumstances you find yourself: “So don’t throw away your confidence which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will you may receive what was promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36). Because Isaac obeyed and remained, he reaped a hundred fold harvests in a season that is said to be famine! God is set to do that which is impossible in our lives if we consistently remain and abide by His instructions. May the Lord grant us the Grace to remain in Him no matter the wind that is blowing around us, in Jesus Christ name! God bless you!
