Thursday February 04th, 2021
Memorize: Genesis 26:2 New King James Version (NKJV)
« Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. »
Read: Genesis 26:1-4, Genesis 26:12-17
Genesis 26:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said:
“Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.
3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you;
for to you and your descendants I give all these lands,
and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven;
I will give to your descendants all these lands;
and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
Genesis 26:12-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold;
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.
15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac,
“Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 Then Isaac departed from there andpitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
Message:
It is no longer news that every day, lots of people flock out of developing countries in search of greener pasture in developed nations.
It is saddening when we hear of those who are so desperate that they go abroad through boats that are death traps or by walking through the deserts and terrible weather conditions.
Thousands have died and many others have been kidnapped and used as sex slaves because they were so desperate to leave their country in search of greener pastures.
The principles of success are as effective in your nation as they are in the developed world, and as a Christian, you have a greater advantage in the word of God and the presence of His Holy Spirit in you.
Now, I am not saying you cannot achieve greatness anywhere aside from your home country, after all, Daniel and Joseph succeeded tremendously in Babylon and Egypt respectively.
However, if you cross the borders without an instruction from God, you may be leaving God’s plans for you behind.
You are to ask God where you ought to be per time and His direction will keep you on the right path.
You may say “oh, but the situation in my country is not favorable at all”; well. Isaac was in such a situation too in Genesis 26, but God told him to stay in that same land in spite of the famine and he eventually prospered so much that he became the envy of the nation.
God told him in Genesis 26:3 CW:
« stay in this land, and I will be with you…»
This is all that you should be after: the presence of God with you.
It is that same presence that made Joseph succeed, according to Genesis 39:2-3 NKJV:
« 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. »
Seek God’s face to know His will for your life. His presence will be with you as you obey Him and the works of your hands will prosper greatly in the mighty name of Jesus.
Key point: Only go where God has instructed you to go.
Author: Pst E. A. Adeboye.
Text edited by Naomie
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