“Now there was a famine in the land – besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time … 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….” (Genesis 26 v 1-3)
Abraham had gone down to Egypt when the famine had previously struck. But God told Isaac to sow in the place of famine. God wanted to do something new. He wanted to do something in that place of famine.
The wisest thing would be to do what his father had done.
The wisest thing would have been to choose common sense.
No. Not on this occasion.
The wisest thing is always to respond to the appearance of the Lord to you in whatever form that is.
Isaac was told to stay in the crisis.
The Lord spoke 5 things to Isaac:-
· Do not go down to Egypt. Don’t look at what the last generation did, and don’t look at what seems obvious in the present. Ask the question: Lord, what path are you closing that I keep trying to force open? What “Egypt” am I running toward that you’re protecting me from?
· Live in the land where I tell you to live. Living is the option. You will live. The Lord promises to show him where. Ask the question: Lord, where are you already speaking that I haven’t been listening? Show me not just where to live, but how to truly live—fully present and fully alive—right where you’ve placed me.
· Stay in this land for a while. Even though every part of you may want to leave, stay. It is time-limited—for a while. This indicates that the Lord hasn’t forgotten Isaac; this is a purposeful season. Ask the question: Lord, what are you doing here that requires me to stay? What am I being prepared for that can only happen in this place, in this season?
· I will be with you. Staying is not staying alone. It is staying in His presence, with the Lord. He doesn’t leave—He stays with you in the difficulty. Ask the question: Lord, how can I recognise your presence in this hard place?
· (I) will bless you. The blessing and provisions were not to be found in Egypt’s grain stores of plenty but in the proximity of God’s presence. God doesn’t need Egypt. God doesn’t need circumstances to be right. Ask the question: Lord, what blessing are you offering that I’ve been overlooking while searching for different circumstances?
Missions Paul 