Read
Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine in Abraham's time; and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.
Meditate
Today’s message
Crisis comes to everyone, but it doesn't decide the end of everything. I see this in the Bible and in real life. Fear creates panic and paralyzes. Faith leads us to obey. God likes to start where no one bets: desert turning into a path, dry land turning into harvest. And I want to walk with you in Genesis 26. Isaac wakes up in a famine scenario. The impulse would be to run to Egypt, the natural route. But God shows up and cuts off the escape. Stay. From this word, the impossible begins to move.
The text shows the sequence: Isaac stays where God commanded, sows in the dry land, and reaps a hundredfold. The blessing provokes envy and retaliation: they block the wells. Then he reopens his father's old wells and digs new ones. There is contention in Essek and Sitnah, until he reaches Rehoboth: open space. Later, in Beersheba, the Lord speaks again, and Isaac builds an altar. The path was not easy, but it was guided. Walking with God does not mean winning immediately; it means winning in the end.
Who wants to prosper in crisis needs to
- Discern God's direction: it is better to have a word from heaven than a good human plan.
- Not stop sowing: cast seed even when the soil seems hostile.
- Dig wells: reopen blocked sources and dig new ones, despite the contention.
- Build altars: find God in the bad day and the good day, before any expansion.
It is better to have a word from God than a good plan.
Notice Isaac's order. First, he reopens what was closed. Before expanding structures, he recovers sources of provision. While retaliation increased, he kept digging. And when God speaks again, he stops and worships: altar before agenda. Do not fear seeming inconsistent in the eyes of the earth; fear disobeying the direction of heaven. You are not everyone. The enemy may surround, but cannot nullify a life aligned with the word.
Practical steps for this season
- Stay where God commanded, even if Egypt seems more logical.
- Remove earth from the old wells: resume habits, alliances, and sources that have dried up.
- Dig new wells despite the dispute: advance to the Rehoboth that God will open.
- Build altars: remove old ashes and place new wood before the Lord.
I believe and declare over your house: it is not the end, it will not end like this. Remove the ashes of what burned and no longer burns; place new wood. Put on the armor of God to stand firm in the bad day and do not negotiate obedience. Say with me: Me and my house will prosper in the midst of crisis. If God said stay, stay. If He commanded to sow, sow. If your wells were closed, dig again. And when God shows up, raise an altar.
Did you know
- Rehoboth, in Hebrew, means spaciousness or wide space, echoing Isaac's declaration about God opening a place.
- Wells in the ancient East were signs of territory and survival; disputing them was disputing future and flocks.
- The patriarchs marked encounters with God by raising altars; this recorded covenant and guided decisions on their journeys.
Key phrases
- It is better to have a word from God than a good plan.
- Who wants to prosper in crisis needs to learn to discern God's direction.
- Who wants to prosper in the midst of crisis cannot stop sowing.
- Walking with God does not mean we will win immediately, but it means we will win definitively.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
Seek
To seek today
Go deeper
Go deeper
COMO PROSPERAR EM MEIO A CRISE | ANDRÉ FERNANDES | CELEIRO SÃO PAULO
Watch