ABUNDANCE IN FAMINE

A story is told of old about how Isaac, son of Abraham was told by God to dwell in a land of famine as He(God) would be with him and bless him. Genesis 26:1-6

True to God's promise, Isaac gained favour in the eyes of the King of the land (Abimelech of Philistine). In spite of Isaac's mistakes, the King charged everyone not to harm him lest they face the death penalty. Isaac proceeded to sow in a time of famine and did reap a hundredfold harvest. He continued to wax great in the land, grew and became exceedingly great, that the Philistines envied him.

The Philistines felt intimidated by Isaac's wealth, it was so bad that Isaac was sacked from the land as they feared he was mightier than them. We can easily brush aside this story without looking at its salient economic implications. The famine that was in Isaac's days can be likened to an economic recession or the modern day credit crunch. It was a season of lay offs and redundancies. Prices were escalating, businesses were going downhill. Losses made were huge, and prices of food were dear.

However, God spoke at such a time to His own that He was going to bless him in the land of famine. Isaac went ahead to sow and was blessed beyond measure that men begun to fear and oppose him. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He defies intricate economic policies and human barriers to show His glory. As children of God, it is easy for us to allow what we see to guide our emotions and wrongly rule our steps. It is humanly reasonable to think you may not be promoted at a time when many are being laid off. Forgetting that we are expatriates in this land, and rather belong to Heaven. We are governed by the economic standards of Heaven.

There is no famine in Heaven, so we can never be victims of famine. In Heaven, once you sow you must reap, so your seeds shall never die!The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day-Proverbs 4:18. Hence we can never retrogress, we can only progress. I will entreat that we take our eyes off human and worldly limitations, and focus on Heavenly principles.

Isaac obeyed God's voice and direction to stay in the land of famine. We must likewise be obedient to God's leading through His word and teachings, and via the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must endeavour to be prompt in our obedience, and to learn and practice the principle of obedience being better than sacrifice. Do not jump on any bandwagon because of money.Do not sacrifice your time of worship to chase after wealth, with the intention of simply sending in your offerings and tithes. God needs you and your devotion to Him, not merely your money. He owns the silver and the gold, and lacks nothing.

The next thing Isaac did was to sow. We must sow in order to reap. God needs your seed to multiply, bless and increase you. You must sow your strength , talents, skills, knowledge, money and time in a venture. Then alone can God bless you. I once read a joke about a lady that prayed constantly for God to bless her with the jackpot as she had lost her job and was in dire need of money. She prayed and prayed but never won the jackpot. Angry with God, she sought answers - God simply implored - " you must buy a ticket, dear." Of course she needed a ticket to win the jackpot. This joke simply teaches us to do first things first.

Jesus first of all needed five loaves of bread and two fish before he could multiply it miraculously. In 2Kings 4: 1-7, Elisha helped a widow in debt by using what she already had in her house - oil. God is going to bless and increase what you already have. Gird up your loins and lift what you have to God in prayer(like what Jesus did with the loaves of bread and fish), and He shall greatly increase it. God has promised abundance in this season, position yourself aright for the great blessing coming your way!