Bishop Keith Butler
Feb 7
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. (Genesis 26:12-13)
Isaac found himself in a difficult situation — living in a famine-stricken land. There was hardly any food, water was scarce, and finances were not coming in. Isaac faced a choice, one that many of us face at various times in our lives. Would he pay attention to the problems or anchor his faith to God's promises?
Isaac trusted in God by sowing seeds in barren soil. This act defied any natural logic, but Isaac was operating in faith. God told him to stay and sow, and that is what he did.
Living by faith is not always easy, but it always produces blessing. Isaac didn’t just have a good crop. He reaped a hundredfold harvest—one hundred times what he had sown. This was a manifestation of God's blessing that propelled Isaac from greatness to a very great stature. His flocks multiplied, his influence expanded, and his prosperity became the envy of the Philistines.
Isaac was walking in the promise God gave Abraham and his descendants. This inheritance was the territory of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, and parts of Syria and Lebanon. Isaac's prosperity in the land wasn't just a fulfillment of divine promise; it was a precursor to the legacy of blessings God intended for His people.
Isaac's story is not just about material abundance; it's a profound lesson in spiritual stewardship. Isaac obeyed God and sowed in that land when things weren’t going well. The blessing Isaac received was rooted in obedience and anchored in faith.
Has God called you to sow during a time of famine? Often during difficulty and financial lack, the Holy Spirit will call you to sow yourself out of famine. Don’t doubt, just obey God! Sow something in faith, knowing that God’s system of sowing and reaping works and His plan for you is abundance!