Dr. Lawrence Butler
The Bridge Church, Pembroke
The 26th chapter of Genesis reveals the power of the promises of God. The famine that came in the days of Isaac pushed him to move towards Egypt for survival. The trip to Egypt proved to be a problem for Abraham, and the Lord warned Isaac not to make the same mistake by going down into Egypt.
Thus, Isaac stopped at Gerar. Even there he fell into a snare similar to that of Abraham and Sarah. The king in Egypt desired to take Sarah as his wife, prompting Abraham to say she was his sister because he feared for his life. The same type situation arose with Isaac and his wife. Rebekah was a beautiful woman and Isaac feared he would be killed and his wife taken away. He failed to trust God for protection and said she was his sister. The Lord delivered both Abraham and Isaac despite their similar sins of lying. Repentance always brings restoration.
In spite of this failure on the part of Isaac, the Lord promised to bless him. “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee” (Gen. 26:3). Did the Lord keep His promise? Let’s look at verses 12-13 of the same chapter. “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great.”
God never forgets His promises.
“He is faithful that promised” (Hebrews 10:23). The promises of God are not to be taken lightly, they never fail or fade away. He remembers His promises to you whether you do or not. The Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself ” (II Timothy 2:13).
Most of us have an encounter with God somewhere along life’s journey. Maybe you have served Him faithfully, or maybe not so much. He remembers you whether you remember Him or not, and He has not forgotten His plans for you.
The Lord wants to bless you because He loves you, not because you have ever earned it. You will never be strong enough, good enough or popular enough to deserve anything from Him. Just as He promised to bless Isaac there is a promise for you and your family. Sometimes those blessings are too slow in arriving to suit us, but if you will be faithful to the Lord and trust Him, you will see His blessings. Every prayer of yours will not be answered the way you want, just trust that His way is always better than yours. Believe Him, serve Him and His blessing will come.