(Genesis 26:1-14)
The story above is the story of a young man called Isaac. The Bible tells us that there was famine in the land similar to the famine during the time of his father, Abraham.
This tells us straight away that in everyone’s life, there is always a period of strife, a period of struggles and a period of toils. But it was during this period of famine that Isaac sowed in the land. By the end of the famine, Isaac ended up very rich. The truth of the matter is that he could have ended up very poor. As a matter of fact, Isaac did not have a very good start in life. He almost ended up not being born, as his parents were barren for a long period of time. He was lonely for a long period of his early life, being an only child. This also tells us that no matter where you are in life, you can end up well and will not fail if you know what you are supposed to do.
The story of Isaac proves to us the following truths:
(1) Where you start in life does not matter and your success in life is dependent on doing certain things at certain times. Most often in life, you are in charge of your personal success. It is your doing that determines your being.
(2) All things are possible with God. His story proves to us that all things can be done.
(3) There is a thin line between comfort and poverty, between success and failure. Isaac’s success in life was dependent on his obedience to an instruction which came from a voice, a voice which he himself did not understand, which told him to stay in Gerar. Most of the time, the voice of God always goes against the natural reasoning and intuition of man. God can speak to you through many things and many people.
(4) Most acts that lead to success in life go against the natural reasoning of man.
The laws of the universe
(1) The world and the universe itself are established on a set of laws. Everything you see around you obeys a set of laws and dynamics. We fail in life because we do not obey the natural laws of the universe. Everyone who has succeeded in life has knowingly or unknowingly stumbled on the laws of the universe, especially the laws that govern success and prosperity. Failure is also when you knowingly or unknowingly break the laws of the universe. Your success in life is not based on your ability, but on your application, rightly or wrongly, of the laws of the universe. Success in life is based on doing certain things in certain ways. Your job is to find these laws all of which can be found in the Bible. That is why Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart of your mouth and you shall meditate on it day and night that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your way prosperous. In addition to finding these laws, there is a part that you must play which is doing these laws.
(2) There is a Supreme Being, an Almighty who made the universe and all that is in it. Jeremiah 10:10 says, “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.” Jeremiah 10:12 says, “It is he who made the earth by his power and established the world by his wisdom.” The Bible says, “It is only a fool that says there is no God.” Apart from God, there is nothing else. God is the only One that has life, and everything else takes its source of life from Him. God is the One that made all things and He knows all things. John 1:3 says, “All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made.” You need to appreciate who and what God is. You can call Him by whatever name you want, but there is a God. If you do not know this God, if you do not have a relationship with this God, then you will end up a failure. If there is a God who knows all things and can do all things, then it makes sense to live by His rules. It may not be easy living by God’s rules, but it makes sense.
(3) There are more than enough resources in the universe created by God to make you wealthy. The earth is not poor. The universe is not poor. It is the individual living on the earth who can be poor. If you are poor, it is because you do not have access to the resources of the earth. Nobody is kept in poverty by shortage in the supply of riches because there are more than enough resources. Psalm 24: 1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
If you know these laws, obey and follow them, then you can be successful and prosperous, but it starts with knowing God and being born again.
