How to Prosper in Famine

How to Prosper in Famine


Genesis 26:12 Then Isaac sewed in the land in the year of famine and in the same year he received 100 fold. And the Lord favored him with blessings.

This scripture has been my hope as my husband and I have walked in financial opportunity in the past year. I call it opportunity because the definition of opportunity is: A reasonable time for advancement. God told me several years ago to quit looking at my obstacles as stumbling blocks or road blocks and see them as a time for me to advance in my faith, my character, my integrity, and my joy!

One of the ways that I advance in the opportunity situation is through diving deeply into God’s Word and finding out what He has to say about my situation. As I said, Genesis 26:12 has been a lifeline to me. As I have heard this scripture quoted by many Christians, and Ministers in the past few months I have had a nagging question within my spirit: “What did Isaac do in order to prosper?” You see that 4 letter word at the beginning of that verse kept leaping out to me. THEN! “Then” Isaac sewed and he prospered. That word, then, tells me that something happened and THEN the prosperity came.

And so, I went to the Word to find out exactly what happened and I saw that there were 7 things that had to take place in order for Prosperity/Victory to come.



Genesis 26: 1 And there was a famine in the land, other than the former famine that was in the land in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimilech king of the Philistines. V2 And the Lord came to Isaac and said, Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land of which I will tell you. V3 Dwell temporarily in this land and I will be with you and favor you with blessings. For to you and to your children I will give this land and I will perform he promise that I promised to your father Abraham.



1) In order to prosper, we have to have “ears to hear”.



Notice that there was a famine in the land in the days of Isaac’s father, Abraham. But God specifically pointed out that this was a different famine. Why? Because he wanted us to see that the season that we are in is different than any season that has come before us. We can’t be dependent on doing things the same way that those that came before us did it. Don’t get me wrong, there is so much that we can learn from elders, history, etc. But I believe that too many are going around in circles, facing the same opportunities over and over simply because they keep doing the same thing over and over.



God specifically spoke to Isaac’s situation. There are many of God’s children that are in the Valley of Decision in their lives right now. In order to know which way to turn and what direction to go in, it is IMPERATIVE that we have a specific word from God about what and where.

One of the things that I learned in my study is that during this time, Egypt had a very sophisticated water system. It probably appeared to be the ONLY place in the world at that time that was not being devastated by the famine. However this was NOT the place that God wanted Isaac to be.



In some of our lives there are probably things that look to our eyes to be the ANSWER to our dilemma. Perhaps that other job, that new home, that new friend, that “get rich quick scheme” looks as if it is just the answer that we have been looking for. BUT God wants us to know that there is a specific answer to our problem and it may not look to us to be the answer at all.



I am sure that as Isaac surveyed the land of Gerar he saw the tumbleweeds blowing across the dry land and the brown bushes that had withered from lack of rain. I am sure that the dusty stony ground did not look to be a land that would yield 100 fold crops for him and help him to increase in numbers in his cattle and goats. However, he had a SPECIFIC word from God and he obeyed it. Perhaps you’ve got your eyes on what looks to be the answer for your opportunity. Just remember that the blessing may be on the land that looks as if it could produce nothing for you. The blessing may be upon that person that looks as if there nothing that they could do for you.



2) We have to remember who we are.



v. 3-4. For to you and to your children I will give this land and I will perform he promise that I promised to your father Abraham. V4. And I will make your descendants to multiply as the stars of heaven and will give you the posterity of all these kingdoms. And by your offspring shall all of the nations of the earth be blessed.



God was reminding Isaac that he was the son of Promise. He reminded Isaac that there was a promise guiding his life. When we find ourselves facing a famine in the land (in whatever area) we must remind ourselves WHO WE ARE and that there are promises that are guiding our lives. The enemy would love to speak words of defeat reminding us of every past mistake, flaw, or failure but when we REMEMBER WHO WE ARE, those weapons cannot prosper!

There have been days that I have literally had to stand in front of my bathroom mirror, look myself in the eyes and remind myself who I am. I have had to say “Shelby, You are the daughter of the most high. You have been called to the Kingdom for such a time as this. You have been brought with a price and your price is far above rubies. You are of great value to God because you are a joint heir with Jesus. Your latter days shall be greater than your former days and no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper because you are a child of God and this is your inheritance.”

My circumstance didn’t change right away when I said those things to myself, but my OUTLOOK on them did!



3) DEAL WITH IT!

Have you ever been watching a TV program when suddenly there was a beep beep beep beep and then something flashes across the screen saying “Breaking News”? That’s how I feel about what happens in verse 7. It seems that out of nowhere there is this break in what is being said and a story is injected that makes absolutely no sense at all.

V7 And the men of that place asked him about his wife and he said, She is my sister. For he feared to say, She is my wife, lest said he, they should kill me and take Rebekah, for she was fair to look at. V8 And it came to pass, that when he had been there A LONG TIME, that Abimilech the king looked out of a window and saw him caressing his wife. V9 And Abimilech called Isaac and said; Surely she is your wife. How is it that you have lied and told me that she is your sister? And Isaac said to him, because I was afraid that I would die because of her.



Isaac had just received a word from God about his opportunity. God had just assured him that he was about to bless him in this land and he reminded him of who he was. Right behind that great revelation, Isaac allowed fear to show up and he stepped over into the flesh and lied.

Why would God put this story in the middle of this chapter? I believe that he wants us to see that if we plan to prosper in the land of famine that we are going to have to deal with some character flaws. The bible specifically says in v8 that Isaac had been there A LONG TIME before Abimilech discovered his lie. I believe that God is saying to us..There are some things that we have allowed to go on for a long time. There are some things that we have not wanted to make right, not taken the steps necessary to correct..Old habits, old actions, old thoughts, past wrongs..that we have not wanted to confront. But God is saying…If you plan to prosper in this land...you must first deal with THAT THING.

This had been a problem for Isaac’s father Abraham as well. He also had lied about Sarah being his wife out of fear that he would be killed. Some of the things that are showing up in our lives are things that have been passed down to us by our parents or grandparents. We may think to ourselves, “This is just how the people in my family act or think, etc. My mama was like this and so I am like this too”. That may be so…but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Some of us have people in our lives that we know that God has said we need to part from. If the people that are surrounding you are not inspiring or helping you to go toward what God has promised you then they are holding you back! I don’t mean that you must be mean or ugly but slowly and silently you can slip out of the grip that this relationship has on your life. I am not advocating leaving a spouse. Most of you know how I feel about that. BUT there are other non covenant relationships that need to be dissolved before you can move toward prosperity.

Some people are only supposed to be seasonal in our lives. Sometimes we try to hold onto relationships that God only intended to last for a short season. I learned a long time ago to stop getting my feelings hurt when seasonal people walk out of my life. I realize that they were in my life for a purpose for a little while but they were not going where God wanted me to go and so a parting of the ways was necessary. Most of the time, in cases likes that, I can’t really even look back and tell you when it happened. There was no big fight or disagreement. It was as if we were spending time together or talking on the phone together one day…and the next they were just gone.

If we are willing to face up to our issues and deal with them we can then prosper in the land of famine. One of my favorite sayings is “You cannot conquer what you do not confront”. And if we are willing to release the people that are not suppose to be in our lives, then we will be amazed how quickly we will advance toward what we are hoping for.



4) Act on the promise—even when it looks crazy.

V12-13 THEN Isaac sowed in the land and in that same year reaped a hundredfold harvest and the Lord favored him with blessings. V13 And the man became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy and the Philistines envied him.

As I said earlier, I am sure that Gerar did not look like prime land for sewing seed. I am sure that many of the farmers were standing around asking “What are you sewing those seed now for? Haven’t you seen our fields and how barren they are? Did you hear about farmer Brown and how he lost everything because of this crop? What makes you think that you will be any different?”

Sometimes we have to use what I call “Crazy Faith”. When we have promise from God about an opportunity the next thing that we need to do is to act on that faith. Even in the face of impossibilities we must move toward what God has told us is going to come to pass. We can’t listen to what “they “say. Who are they and what do THEY know anyway???

Notice that Isaac didn’t only reap once. The bible says that he became great...more and more. Meaning that the increase in his life was a continual process.



5) The enemy may try to stop our source of provision but we must remember that GOD IS IN CONTROL!



V15 Now all the wells that Isaac’s father Abraham had dug had been filled up with dirt by the Philistines. V17 So Isaac went away from there and pitched his tent in the valley and dwelt there.



Those wells that were dug by his father were supposed to belong to Isaac. They were his inheritance. They were going to be the source for the water supply for his animals, his crops, and his family but the enemy filled them with dirt and covered them up.

Perhaps the enemy has seemingly stopped up something that you thought was going to be your source. Maybe that job that you thought was going to finally bring you success was cut. Perhaps that bonus that you were depending on isn’t coming through anymore. Maybe there was a person that you thought was going to be your ticket to the good life. Maybe even the spouse that you thought was finally going to make you feel special and loved and wanted for the first time in your life has walked away from you or is not showing you the affection that you so desperately long for.

Take heart! GOD IS YOUR SOURCE!!!!

Isaac didn’t get mad and pitch a fit. He didn’t stomp his feet and demand what was rightfully his...NO...he simply moved on. WHY? Because he finally knew that God was his source. He finally realized that there would be other wells to dig and that somehow God would provide everything that he had need of.

6) The enemy can’t take what you freely give away.

V19 Now Isaacs servants dug wells in the valley and found that there were springs beneath them. V20 The herdsman of Gerar argued with Isaacs servants saying This water is ours. V21 Then his servants dug another well and they argued over that one also.

When God began to show me this revelation it was not the easiest thing to walk out. At the beginning of this financial opportunity that Lester and I have been experiencing, we had a tractor that we were able to pay off. We had carried insurance through the lender for this tractor so when the last payment was made, the insurance expired. There was no grace period on the tractor. Two weeks after the final payment was made, someone stole our tractor from a job site. I WAS HOT! My husband was mad too. He struggled with that thing for several days. I was praying a puking spirit and boils on their backside. (It makes me giggle to read this now, but at the time I was mad!) There are three things that I detest in this life: 1) A liar 2) a manipulator 3) a thief.

God began to deal with my husband to release this tractor and to choose to look at it as sowing the tractor to someone. He told Lester to “give the tractor away”. This took some work on our part to be able to see this opportunity in that way but I truly believe that it was a part of the reason that we have been able to stand and keep our business afloat when so many others are going under.

Perhaps the enemy has stolen some things from you. I am not advising you to lay down and let the enemy run over you and take all that you have. But I do know that living in hurt, anger, or disillusionment over that thing will hinder your faith from being able to move you forward toward prosperity. It will rob your focus and keep your mind from being able to focus on where you are going and how to get there. It is a distraction. IF you can release that thing and see it as a seed sewn rather than a thing stolen…perhaps prosperity will manifest.

Perhaps someone has robbed you of your dignity. Perhaps someone has misused your friendship and robbed you of trust. Whatever that thing is that was stolen…choose to release it as a seed…and it won’t be a “stolen” thing any longer.

7) Keep on digging until you find a place big enough for you.

V22 And he moved away from there and dug other wells. This time they did not argue with him. He named the well Rehoboth because he said, “Finally the Lord has given us a place big enough for us”.

Maybe the reason that some of us have had our “wells stolen” is because they were not big enough for us to begin with. We have to learn to realize that if we have lost anything…perhaps it is because God has something BETTER for us. I have seen this so many times in my life. I have decided that if the door closes in any area of my life it is because I there is a better prize behind door #2. Remember that old game show that had prizes behind 3 doors and you had to figure out which door to choose? Yep...that’s how I see it. If they take this well from me…then I choose to look for a better well next time. If my car breaks down and can’t be fixed, then I will get a bigger, nicer, and more comfortable car next time...without the payments! 

As you can see...prospering a hundredfold in the land of famine doesn’t just happen because we say it’s going to happen. It doesn’t even happen simply because we believe it is going to happen. There are some things that WE MUST do and THEN we can reap the hundredfold harvest that has been promised.

What do you think? Got some work to do? So do I. James said, Faith without works is dead faith. Let’s be DOERS of the Word and not hearers only.

We’ve got a promise!

We can and we will prosper in the land of famine!!!!