Reading Passage: Genesis 26:1-14
[1]And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
[2]And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
[3]Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
[4]And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
[5]Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
[6]And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
[7]And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
[8]And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
[9]And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
[10]And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
[11]And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
[12]Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
[13]And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
[14]For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
Isaac found himself in a situation when there was famine in the land where he sojourned and went to the city of Gerar.
Abraham his father had in a similar famine gone down to Egypt. This time around, Isaac's survival would not be from Egypt for God had prepared some better thing for him even in the midst of famine. It is a test of obedience. Isaac obeyed the Lord, as his father did and he was blessed with a hundredfold harvest.
To escape the economic challenges in your country, are you looking for every opportunity to leave the country by all means, foul or legal? What is the Lord telling you? Ad Christians, we should not pin our hope on any government or on the world economy because we have the creator of the economy as our father. He will bless us.
Remember, in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Things are sure hard but I know you will make a way for me/us. Help me Lord to hear you.