Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
God has given every man and woman a free will and imagination. Why? Because man and woman are made in the image and likeness of the Godhead. How a man or woman uses this free will and imagination determines their earthly and eternal destinations. God urges us to use both for life and blessings; not death and curses.
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
God tells us we have free will to make the choice of life or death, blessing or cursing. Once we make the choice, our imaginations take over.
Let’s look at a biblical example in Genesis 26. Isaac, son of Abraham, is experiencing a famine. Isaac is a Believer. You’ll note in Genesis 26:1 his first inclination is to turn to the wisdom of the world for help.
Genesis 26:1
And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
The Philistines were known in Hebrew as “invaders” or “uncircumcised.” When someone is referred to as “uncircumcised” in the Old Testament, it means they are not of the blood covenant between God and Abraham which was signified by circumcision. In other words, they are not under the “Blessing” God gave to Abraham through the blood covenant. They can only be under the curses.
Now, the scriptures don’t say this, but in the transition from Genesis 26:1 to Genesis 26:2, we can see that Isaac determined the Philistines didn’t have the answers and couldn’t help. So, Isaac determined to go into Egypt to seek out the answers. Now, if we’re not really seeking and having a heart to “study” the Word as commanded in II Timothy 2:15, we’ll miss out on great revelation. What’s the big deal about Isaac going to Egypt? Wouldn’t it make sense to leave the Philistines, who are faring no better than Isaac, at this point, and go into Egypt which may be faring better, or somewhat better? Let’s examine what the word “Egypt” means. In the Hebrew, Egypt is the Hebrew word “misraim. “Im” is plural and means double or a double portion. “Misra” means “stress” or “pressing in.” Egypt means “double stress.”
God, knowing the thoughts of Isaac, appears and tells him to stay and “sojourn in this land.” Based on what we know of the word “Egypt,” God tells Abraham to stay temporarily where he is, and trust God, rather than leave and go into the land of double stress. Sojourn means “to dwell temporarily; to live in a place as a temporary resident or as a stranger, not considering the place as a permanent habitation; to delay; to tarry.” If Isaac will stay, God says He will be with him and bless him and perform the oath He promised to Abraham. The “oath” referred to is the blood covenant God struck with Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17.
Isaac makes a decision to obey God. What were the results of Isaac obeying God and remaining in Southern Canaan where the famine raged?
Genesis 26:12-14
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
So, let’s really look at this. Isaac sowed seed into the ground, a ground parched, a ground that had no water, in an area where the water had dried up some time ago, an area where there is no rainfall at this time, an area which could not support any crops of any kind. Can you imagine how insane Isaac appeared to his Philistine neighbors. I can just see them gathered and laughing at Isaac, ridiculing his family, he, and his servants.
Now, I would love to have seen their expressions, heard their conversations, and finally their absolute disbelief at the growing and burgeoning crops of Isaac. Not only did Isaac’s crops prosper, but they returned a hundredfold on every seed. Can you imagine if you were flying over the land in that day? Hundreds and hundreds of miles of dry, dusty, parched earth, and suddenly there’s acres upon acres upon acres of green, flourishing crops in the middle of the parched earth. And, you can see no water source. You would say this is a miracle, right? Wrong. It is simply the Blessing of the covenant at work for Isaac. Miracles are for the unsaved and for the saved who walk in unbelief of some or all of God’s promises. What is a miracle to one is normal to the Believer who walks in the belief of the covenant and experiences what are called miracles every day – consistently.
I really want to quickly focus on Genesis 26:13: “And the man waxed [to grow; grew] great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:.” I had read over the Words “and went forward” many times without revelation. One day, as I read over it, the Words leapt off the page at me. The Holy Spirit pointed out to me, God has called Believers to grow into the “very great” state of being: walk with Christ, faith in God’s promises, blessing, sowing, reaping, health, finances, material possessions, marriage, family, ministry, etc.” This is God’s best for us on this earth. The Holy Spirt said, using these scriptures about Isaac as an example, some Believers will not trust God’s Word but will turn to the world for their wisdom and answers and expose themselves and their families to “double stress.” They will get the same results as the world with double the stress. Some Believers will remain where they are, trust parts of God’s Word for certain moments, but will not be “fully persuaded” to give ALL of their heart to God. They will become “great” and bless others, but they will never reach God’s best for them. Then, there are those Believers who will become “fully persuaded” to give all their heart to God, to trust ALL of God’s Word, His promises, and they will become “very great.” The phrase “and went forward” in Genesis 26:13 means that Isaac, remembering what God did for his father, Abraham, what God had done thus far for Isaac, and what God did for Isaac in this instance, was “fully persuaded” that his only source, his only counsel, his only master, the only one he would completely and fully trust for everything was God. As a result of this, Isaac “grew very great.”
In closing, the Holy Spirit is calling us to examine ourselves. Are you turning to the world and double stress, exposing yourself and your family to the curses? Are you only trusting God in certain areas of your life and enjoying the comfort and blessings but never reaching God’s best for your family and you? Or, are you going forward, trusting God with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5) and turning everything over to Him (Proverbs 3:6), fulfilling God’s call upon your life? I pray your goal is to hear Christ say to you, “Well done My good and faithful Friend” as you stand before Him at the Bema Seat to receive your rewards. Some of you may be facing a “famine” during this COVID-19 curse. You have very definite choices. Your words, your beliefs, and your actions will determine your outcome. Jesus Christ, through the New Covenant, has given you the way to prosper during the famine. Follow Isaac’s example and grow very great.
In Christ,
Larry