Daily Devotionals

He Has Magnified His Word, Psalm 138:2

Thriving On Dry Land

Gen 26:1-14, 2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you;…

Severe famine was the force behind Isaac’s plan to go to Egypt as his father Abram earlier did (he fled to Egypt to escape a famine, Gen 12). He was following his father’s footsteps trying to act responsible. God in His providence would demonstrate to Isaac that He has more ways than one to meet needs.

As Isaac planned to go to Egypt, God instructed him to stay put and sow on the same dryland promising to bless him. Human thoughts exhausted reasoning as Egypt looked very promising. God tried Isaac by His providence, Isaac needed to trust Him. God’s blessings on this dry land were to be also a testimony to king Abimelech and his people to recognize a blessed man.

Sometimes the ground you plan to run from could be the ground of your thriving. Furthermore, your testimony to those in your Gerar who have never learned to trust God with where they are will see that it’s not about a place but about God. God is faithful.

2 replies on “Thriving On Dry Land”

Love this! Reminds me of the time in the early 90’s when many of our friends left the city so their kids could go to a better JHS and HS. Our local ones were plaqued with Gang’s. Those who did not leave town, put their kids in private school. Some, who could afford to live on one salary, home schooled. We could not afford any of those choices back then, as we barely survived as it was. I remember thinking I was a bad parent because I coukd not provide a safer place for my son going to JHS that Fall. The school he was zoned for was one of the worst JHS at that time in Queens. I was scared. I prayed much asking God to protect our son Samuel. My Pastor’s wife called me one morning, which she rarely did,, to ask me how I was doing. I had just prayed about this and shared my concern with her. She reminded me how God had kept Daniel in the Lion’s Den. I took her words as to heart and thanked God for them. My husband reminded me later on how God had kept Samuel in the temple which at that time was a corrupt place , not a good influence on young Samuel. I began to hold on to these and prayed fervently for God’s protection over our son.
When Samuel began JHS that Fall, I was still nervous but prayed each day for his protection. One day he’d forgotten something he needed and I took the bus to being it to him. I got there before homeroom was over and saw a horrible environment in that class. Determined to do something about it I went to see the AP. I waited for a while before he agreed to see me. I asked him to please move my son to a different class in a special Maritime program they had that was part of a grant, with selected student and teachers. I was told the program was full. There was nothing that could be done. In that moment a boy i knew, came to his office demanding to be removed from that very same program, due to the extra work he did not want to do. The AP tried to convince him to stay but he wanted none of it. So I spoke up and told him my son would do the work to please give him a chance. He did, immediately. My son, who up until that day had struggled greatly in school ( long story), had the best two years of his school career and graduated with a 92 average. He had the best teachers, never had to move around the school much, which kept him safer. He never had a hair of his head harmed even though the police was called to that school daily.
God gave him the best two years he could have ever had!
To this day we have a painting of Daniel in the Lion’s Den on our wall with the verse, to remind us of how God provided in that situation.
Just wanted to share this with you.

Wow, this is a great testimony. God’s greatness seen in our helpless situations. Thank you for sharing.

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