Then Isaac sowed in that land and received in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him. Genesis 26:12
A famine is defined as an extreme scarcity of food caused by several factors such as: crop failure, war, extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, etc. Food shortage would have persisted for a prolonged period before it is called a famine.
Isaac was in a place where for prolonged peroid of time the land was not yielding food. It was this shortage in production that made him consider moving. Just as Isaac, some people are considering leaving a situation that seems not to be working as should: leaving the marriage because it’s not working as it should, quitting the business, the career, or ministry because it’s not going as it should. It could be anything. As humans, there is usually a tendency to quit things when they have failed to produce for a certain period.
While it is important to know when to quit and move in a different direction, it is also expedient to know when not too. I sense that in this season, certain people like Isaac are considering moving out of the place of famine and God is saying to you today: stay in that same land. The very place of your difficulty is the very place of your abundance. The difficulty, the challenge you are facing in that area is only the trigger to cause you to manifest that which I have for you.
Did you notice that even though Isaac carried the blessing, the bible never called Isaac great or very great until after the famine? The famine was the trigger to the manifestation of a dimension of the blessing he carried. Just as heat is used to extract gold and other metals from the metal ore, the difficulty, the challenge only serves as fire used to extract the abundance already given to you in Christ. I am not sure what your place of famine is, but I come with a word for you – sow in that land for in that very place is the abundance you desire.
Sowing would require a few things from you
1. Seeds (Invisible): The first type of seed you must sow in that place of famine is the word of God. The word of God is a seed that yields a tremendous harvest. But just like every other seed, there will be no harvest unless it is planted. How do you sow the word? With your words, it is the word spoken, declared, decreed, confessed that is planted. What has God said concerning that place of famine? What promise has He given, it is time to rise and declare it, speak and put those seeds in that land of famine.
2. Seeds (Visible): When Isaac sowed during the famine, he was taking a huge risk. There was no guarantee that the seeds he was putting in the ground would yield any harvest. Maybe he had to sacrifice a day’s meal to have seed to plant because remember he was planting in a time when there was scarcity and he barely had enough to eat.
This second type of seed will cost you, it will be a risk you take based on the word. For someone whose famine is in a place of relationship, your seed might be acts of kindness despite the wrong treatment from the other party. For a business owner, it could be investing again in the business you are about to quit, for a career person it could be investing in training and education in the same field you are about leaving. The bottom line is that when you decide to obey and stay in the place of famine where God wants you to be, you must sow to receive a harvest. And this seed will cost you.
3. Water the Seeds: The Spirit represents water in scripture. Every plant needs water to grow. Sometimes water is needed before planting, to soften the soil and then also needed continuously for the plant to grow. Prayer is non-negotiable in this journey to abundance. We must keep our seed watered in the place of prayer, so we can reap a 100-fold in this very place of famine.
4. Invest Time: After you sow, every farmer knows that the fields must be tended to. There is a lot of work that goes into tilling the ground to sow and then maintaining that farm. Weeding, watering, fertilizing, all these activities take time. Invest the time, and be diligent in tending to your farm. Take out the weed, don’t give room to anything that will kill the seed. Put In the work needed to tend to your seeds until they grow and yield a harvest
The plant also needs time to grow. Harvest does not come overnight. It is with faith and patience that we obtain the promise. Wait patiently for your harvest is sure.
The very place of famine and difficulty is the very place of your abundance. Don’t run away, and don’t quit, the challenge is only a trigger to bring out the treasures and greatness on the inside of you. Stay the course.
Love Always
Obebi
