A story is told of am man planting during a drought and reaping a hundred fold, and also the same man getting extremely prosperous against all adds. Before i tell you about the man and his story, the bible says “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty “(Proverbs 22:3). In a time of drought its obvious that a wise farmer will migrate to and take refuge to areas with greener pastures, else survival especially when wealth is in livestock becomes an illusion. In a time of drought it is also obvious that a wise farmer will not plant, he will keep his seed until the situation is favorable for planting.
The Story is in Genesis 26, please find your bible are read the full story. The popular part of the story is on how there was a famine in the land. Isaac as a wise farmer wanted to take refuge in greener pastures in Egypt (symbolizing help that comes from man) but God instructed him to stay in the land of Philistines in Gerar, for God would bless him there. Against all odds, amidst a famine “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him”.
My prayer is that even in the current situation when everything’s looks gloomy, God may miraculously cause you his people to plant and reap a hundred fold. The conditions don’t have to be perfect. The economy doesn’t have to be booming for you to be blessed.
There is another rare aspect of the story that captured my interest.
Isaac became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. New King James versions states that “The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous;”. This is what the profane generation calls “stinking rich” or “filthy rich”. He became so prosperous to a point the Philistines envied him. The Philistines even started filling up his wells that were dug by his father Abraham with soil. And eventually Abimelech their king told Isaac to, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”. Isaac left and settled in a valley near Gerar. Follow what he does.
First Isaac goes forth and reopens the wells the Philistines had filled up with soil. Second he digs a new well. Once he was done, the Philistines at Gerar claimed the water of the wall was theirs. Something like “The well is yours but the water is ours!”.
Third, he moves on from this well and digs a second well, and the same thing happens there as well. The philistines seemed determined to benefit from his efforts.
Fourth, he moves on from that place and dug yet another well, the third now, and this time nobody quarreled over the well. Isaac acknowledged “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
Isaac was very prosperous man yet had a very different attitude when the philistines did injustices to him. And this is the attitude we should have towards our processions.
Isaac did not take offense when the Philistines filled up his wells with soil. He did not send his servants to fight over them nor did he rush to court for an eviction order. When he was told to leave he did so without cursing the King and the people who had given him accommodation in their land. The philistines took not one but two of the wells he had dug, and he simply overlooked and moved on. He never went fighting over them. This is what I call “the gift of moving on”.
Isaac’s son Jacob too had this “gift of moving on”.
The story is in Genesis chapters 30 and 31.
Jacob too like his father Isaac “ became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys” Gen 30:43.
Jacob had the same attitude like his father Isaac. Laban short changed Jacob ten-times on his wages. In fact, Jacob gets shortchanged by Laban soo many times that it be comes humorous. Sometimes one might wonder if Jacob was a daft. Yet Jacob chooses to move on. Don’t miss the point that one of the reasons that God increased his flock was out of the injustice that God had seen Laban doing to Jacob (Gen 31:12nd he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. This confirms what Rom 12:19 says, that God watches and acts on our behalf once we let go. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.“
What captured my attention in this stories is this:
The reason these Exceedingly Prosperous Men never fought back was because they knew their prosperity and blessing were not of their own efforts. It was the blessings of God just as God had promised to Abraham for his obedience to him. To that these Prosperous men had no motivation to selfishly guard their possessions and fight back. They knew that the God who was blessing them had the capacity to bless them more and prosper them even more. The bible says that God prospered them! and they continued prospering! and became Exceedingly Prosperous!
What do you do when people take advantage of you or treat you unfairly? when mean, envious people frustrate your business? When covetous people rob and steal your possessions from you?
Many people would consider fight back. It’s the most logical and brave thing to do. But there is something to learn from these exceedingly prosperous men of God. You do not need to fight back; you can move on and let God fight for you. Let God compensate and bless you.
This is the setup. The Devil attacks what you have, your possessions, what God has provided to you or blessed you with. But his intention is not to gain from your possessions or business. He does not need them. He is after your soul. By attacking your possessions, he wants you to feel bad. He wants to awaken the spirit of hatred and vengeance towards those that he has used against you, those who have shortchanged you, stealing from you, and pulling you back. If you do that my friend,you will be taking pride of what you have. And now you will be indicating that your possession is yours by your efforts and not God’s.
If God blesses you, you do not need to fight to keep what God has provided. He is the owner and you are the stewards. If you recognize that fact, then you will not take things personally and develop bad attitude. Jesus wants to share his love to all humanity through us, even those who treat us badly. Our being should be fully yielded to the spirit of God. All of who we are and what we have.
When you are attacked on mistreated or shortchanged, remember you are not on the offense. You are just a victim. But once your attitude changes you could be on the offense!, and the accuser will accuse you of hate and pride and vengeance and other attitudes that you will develop.
So the Devil is actually not after your possessions but after the attitude of your heart. He is looking for a particular kind of response from you. The devil would like you to fight back, get angry, curse, speak evil, seek revenge or do something that will fault you before God. Remember he is the accuser of brethren. Your attitude and your response can turn you from a victim to an accused.
Ephesians Chapter 4 gives some instructions for Christian living.Eph 4:26-27.”In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold“. Do not be angered by the external circumstances to a point of doing something that will fault you. That now will give the devil a foothold since sin will make you vulnerable to his accusations.
God says we should not repay Evil with Evil nor should seek revenge, as vengeance belongs to God. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The antidote of evil is goodness. (Rom 12:21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good., John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.)
For us to be exceedingly prosperous we also need to let go the selfish attachment to material procession, and be yielded to God by acknowledging that all that we have is from him and not from our own efforts. We need to ask God to liberate us from covetous holding unto earthly possessions and out attitude should communicate God’s provision and God’s love.
May the God of Isaac and Jacob bless you so and prosper you, and may you continue being prosperous until you become Exceedingly prosperous. But be on the Look out for the Abimeleks, the philistines and Laban of this life.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”
Mathew 5:43-48
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