Genesis 26

Father God, thank you for this day, for this moment, for the breath of life in our lungs, thank you for providing us with peace not as the world gives but the peace that only You can give, thank you for healing LORD, thank you for mercy for surely You have not dealt with us according to our shortcomings, thank you. Thank you Father for Your love and that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus. I praise you LORD God and glorify Your holy name and we come in agreement and say may Your name forever be magnified over all the ends of the earth in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

Today's lead Scripture is from Genesis 26:12-14 (NKJV)

"12.Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundred fold; and the LORD blessed him.

13.The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous;

14.for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him."

Genesis chapter 26 begins with a famine in the land. If you remember, a few chapters back, there was a previous famine in the land where Abraham and his wife had to relocate to Egypt (Genesis 12:10).

However, in this case, the LORD appeared to Isaac and specifically instructed him to not go down to Egypt but remain in Gerar. If this was not something that Isaac was deliberating or pondering upon in his heart, then they would not have been a reason for the LORD to instruct him to not depart for Egypt. As a result of Isaac's obedience, the LORD promised to bless him and to give all of the lands to his descendants just as He promised his father, Abraham (Genesis 26:2-5).

Besides the famine, we see another pattern where just like his father Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister, Isaac repeats the same lie with Rebekah out of fear that the Philistines would kill him if they discovered that he was her husband because she was beautiful (Genesis 26:6-7). Fortunately for Abimelech, he discovered that Rebekah was not Isaac's sister after observing how he related with her (Genesis 26:8). As a king who feared God, he therefore charged his people, "...He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." (Genesis 26:11).

Isaac then began to sow in the land and as today's lead Scripture tells, he reaped a hundred fold and in fact became very prosperous as the LORD increased his possessions greatly (Genesis 26:12-14).

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Isaac sowed in a time of famine, where in the natural it seemed like there was no hope but Isaac, as a son of covenant had his hope and faith in God just like his father, Abraham. Using his faith, by obeying God's Word and relying on his identity in God, he sowed in a dry land and God blessed and greatly increased him.

On the other hand, the Philistines not only envied him but they also became afraid as it was very clear that the LORD God was with Isaac. They said, "...We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD." (Genesis 12:28-29).

The blessings upon Isaac's life remind us that God is trustworthy and faithful to keep His Word especially when you take that first step of faith.

Today, as a child of God who is born again, you are a daughter and son of covenant as well. The LORD promised Abraham through your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. The seed the LORD was referring to was Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). This means that every born again child of God has the same access to the blessings that Isaac had (and more because of Christ) so they should not be afraid to take bold steps of faith to sow in a time of famine or recession. Ephesians 1:3 reminds us that God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places because we are united with Christ Jesus. This means that just as Isaac was blessed by the LORD, you too are blessed by God by virtue of accepting the new covenant that is found in the precious blood of Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:25) and you have access to the same blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Amen.

At the same time, this chapter also shows us that as much as God's blessings are available to His children in Christ Jesus, obedience to God's Word is equally important. For instance, if Isaac and his father Abraham had not obeyed God's Word and did not have a relationship with the LORD God, they would not be able to access the blessings that God had for them. So friend, is the Word of God close to your heart or is it something that you occasionally read and obey? I hope this Word encourages you as much as it has encouraged me to abide in God's presence, His Word and promptly obey Him.

Finally, this chapter also tells us that willingly obeying God's Word works in conjunction with exercising our eyes of faith just like Isaac who did not make any conclusive decisions based on the famine and natural circumstances he saw with his physical eyes. Hence, we are not afraid to make bold decisions because we know that God is with and supporting you.

So my question to you today is, what decision are you currently deliberating in your heart and what step of faith do you have to make?

My prayer for you and I is, may the good Father order our steps as we continue to step into obedience in faith by His grace and trusting God's instruction despite any feelings and what we may see with our natural eyes in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

I'll end with this Word found in 1 John 5:4-5 (NKJV)

"4.For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.

5.Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

AMEN. THANK YOU LORD.

Invitation to salvation: In the same way, God works in His children by giving them the will and desire to receive and walk in obedience to His Son Christ Jesus who washes away all their sins and gives them a brand new life where you will live and abide eternally in God's presence while experiencing all the blessings He has for them.

If you would like to become a child of God as well; I invite you to make this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, by grace you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where you get to freely access everything I've shared in this post. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

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