Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful." When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her." Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." Genesis 26:1-11
After the birth of Esau and Jacob, we read where there is a famine that leads Isaac to visit King Abimelech, just as his father Abraham had done before (Genesis 20). Before he speaks to the king, he is engaged by the King…the one and only all powerful King of Heaven who gives him the following instructions…instructions that also open windows of further understanding into how God guides us in our Christian Walk:
1. Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land I tell you to live. Stay in this land for awhile and I will bless you. During one of my Navy sea duty assignments, I had a shipmate that used to say the following phrase during bible studies, "God might not always be there when we want Him but He’s always right on time." In other words, God works on His time frame not ours. He also puts us where He wants us to be. Rest assured that anywhere you go, God has a purpose for you to go there. We need to just stay open to what He wants us to do…He’ll take care of the rest. In our scripture, God wanted Isaac in Gerar, not Egypt. Isaac complied.
2. I will be with you and will bless you. This is an assurance that we always have with God. It is also an assurance that we too often forget we have from God. Satan is so good at exposing and exploiting our weaknesses, especially stress, anxiety and fear. The world would place us in many circumstances that would leave us hopeless and despaired if we didn’t have the Lord in our life. But we must remember that He is with us. He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. He also promised us He would never give us a burden we couldn’t bear. It’s such a comfort to have so many promises from the Father…He truly does bless us. We need to always remember that.
In our scripture passage, we read where Isaac didn’t exactly show he trusted God. Just as his father Abraham had done, Isaac lies about his wife being his sister, afraid that he would be killed if he told the truth. On can only hear the Lord saying, "Isaac…Isaac…oh ye of little faith." Isaac forgot God’s words. He either didn’t trust them or He misunderstood them I’m leaning more toward the former.His deceptive actions, just like Abraham’s, placed Abimelech and his people in peril. One only wonders what Abimelech was thinking about this family tree because son was definitely just like father in this matter.
Question: What are you going through in your life today? Have you found yourself struggling with
your circumstances, falling victim to fear and anxiety over things? Have you forgotten God’s words, "I will be with you" which are truth? He wants to liberate you from your burdens. Trust and turn to Him. For to you and your descendants, I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." God essentially tells Isaac how He will go about blessing him and his offspring. What makes this interesting is that this promise isn’t necessarily granted him based on what he has done but rather on the solid faithful life of his father, Abraham. This has led me to wonder how much this still happens today. I believe this scripture says that the actions of our ancestors can go a long way toward bringing blessings to their offspring. Consider this if you have children to raise or even if you just care for children in any capacity. Maybe the best gift you can give your kids is the turnover of a faithful, blessed relationship with the Father. He’ll do the rest in carrying on the tradition of watching over and blessing those who love and trust in Him.
In Isaac, we see nearly a mirror reflection of his father. They end up in many similar situations and disappointingly Isaac repeats the same errors of Abraham. Both, in the midst of trial, forgot God’s promises while trying to independently work out matters from a worldly perspective.
Question: Do you trust God fully in your life? Or do you just have a part time faith? God promised that He "will be with you and will bless you." Do you truly trust in that? If not, why not start right now. Pray this prayer:
Dear God,
I have failed to follow you and trust you fully in my life. I have forgotten that you told me you would always be with me, blessing me with Your presence and guidance. Forgive me Lord and please help me draw ever nearer to you until that day comes when I will see you face-to-face. Wipe away my anxieties and fears and bring me to the place of peace and rest only found in you. Thank you Lord for this opportunity called life. Help me walk best through this Christian Walk…and keep me obedient to Your will along the way. Thank you Lord for all you’ve done, all you’re doing and all you have yet to do. I love you and pray in the precious and holy name of your Only Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Trust in the Lord. Obey His word, will and way. Find blessing in Him. And share His truths with other.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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