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.” — Genesis 26:2-3
Isaac and Rebekah faced a serious famine in the land of Canaan. However, unlike Abraham and Sarah, who found relief from famine by relocating temporarily to Egypt, God told Isaac to stay put in the Holy Land. God promised to prosper Isaac despite the famine. He told Isaac, “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you…”
True to His word, God did bless Isaac. Isaac planted crops in the arid land and reaped a hundredfold that very same year (Genesis 26:12-13). Even though the conditions in the land made it nearly impossible to grow crops, Isaac prospered and enjoyed abundance, demonstrating that success is not determined by the conditions around us, but by God’s blessings.
This is such an important lesson for us to keep in mind, especially when we face challenging times. We can easily be discouraged when we hear a negative report and worry about our future when life seems so uncertain. However, we need to remember that our provisions come from God and God alone. He can prosper us in a desert and cause us to bear fruit during a famine. We need to place our trust exclusively in God. In His Name we prosper and by His Word we are blessed.
