Genesis 26

When there is a famine, everyone suffers. In the time of Isaac, most famines were caused by drought. When the rain stops, it doesn’t matter how good a farmer you are, your crops fail. If you were wise, and fortunate enough you may have saved some food back for an emergency. If the drought lasts long enough everyone goes hungry. When the drought hits, you have to decide to stick it out, or move to greener pasture.

Isaac did not make the decision alone, he allowed God to guide him. He thought of going to Egypt where along the Nile the grass was always green. God told him to stay where he was at. God told him, “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.” God always keeps his promise. In the midst of a drought, Isaac planted crops and reaped a hundredfold.

Our world is messed up in its thinking about what the life of God’s children should be like. Prosperity preachers will tell you that Christians will never suffer. That is a lie.  Drought comes to everyone. They will point to Isaac’s hundredfold increase and claim that should be the norm. If that was the norm, the scriptures would not have pointed it out as an extra special blessing.

We do not determine if we’re in the center of God’s will by external circumstances. God may put us in the middle of a famine. God may place us in the midst of a hundredfold harvest. We do not know that we’re in the center of God’s will by what is happening around us. We know we are in the center of God’s will because we are where he tells us to be.