Faith that Overcomes Circumstance (Genesis 26:1-5)

Faith that Overcomes Circumstance (Genesis 26:1-5)

 

1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.

3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.

4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,

5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”

Intro)

1. Some of you may have heard the amazing success story of Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the infamous KFC fast food chicken restaurant.

 

Born in the state of Indiana in 1890, Colonel Sanders was the oldest of 2 boys and 1 girl. He died in 1980, and his 90 years of life was filled with ups and downs to say the least. When he was 6, his father passed away; he started working on a farm at the age of 10; by the time he was 12, his mother had remarried and they moved; at 13, he dropped out of school.

 

But despite these circumstances, Colonel Sanders continued his adult life working as hard as he could: he painted, worked as a streetcar conductor, sold tires, worked at a gas station, and the list goes on. He made a living and got married and had kids. And then the Great Depression left him penniless at the age of 40.

 

Colonel Sanders’ fame started when one day, while he was working at a gas station in Kentucky, he heard a customer complain there was nothing around to eat. Thus he began is research for the best fried chicken recipe, and by the time he was 45, he and his chicken were famous in Kentucky.

 

Through this fame, he built a large restaurant and motel. But within a year he went bankrupt. on top of that, he had divorced his wife and she and his son left him. At the age of 60, Colonel Sanders lost everything he had, and the shock of his despair placed him in a mental institution.

 

He was wasting away in a corner of his hospital room when one day he heard a hymnal in the middle of the night. He looked out in the hallway to identify where the song was coming from, and he saw a cleaning staff with one leg singing joyfully.

 

“God will take care of you; through everyday, o’er all the way. He will take care of you. God will take care of you.” This praise touched his heart. He asked the cleaner, “How can you sing with such thankfulness and joy when you only have one leg?”

 

The janitor replied, “Sir, this world is not my home. My home is up there in Heaven. Knowing this, I can be joyful all the time, no matter how bad my circumstances become.”

“Can you really be happy knowing you have a home in Heaven? How can I be like you and do the same?” Colonel Sanders asked.

“All you need to do is meet the Lord.” The janitor gave Colonel Sanders the Word of the Gospel, and the Colonel was in shock. That night he repented, prayed, and once his health improved he faithfully attended church.

One day, he prayed earnestly to the Lord, “God, what can I do at my age?” At that moment, the image of chickens flying entered his mind and distracted him from his prayers. He couldn’t get rid of that image.

Annoyed and concerned, he asked a close church friend why this was happening. Hearing this, his friend simply replied, “It means you need to repent before the rooster crows.”

But he still could not get the image of flying chickens out of his mind. He ended up cooking his once famous chicken and shared it with the people around him. The reactions he received were overwhelming; people loved his chicken and it gained popularity.

With demands rising, Colonel Sanders took his social security money, purchased an old truck and small pressure cooker, and began traveling the country. After 3 years of traveling, he was rejected 999 times by companies by the age of 68. Feeling hopeless, he began crying in the street, standing in his white suit.

 

Seeing this, a child came up to him and asked, “Sir, why are you wearing all white? And why are you just standing here with your eyes closed?” Noticing the child, Colonel Sanders wiped his tears away on his handkerchief, put on a big smile and replied, “Well, in a few years I’m going to build a great big restaurant right here in this spot. It’s going to do so well people will be standing in line for miles! When this happens, I’m going to be wearing a white suit just like this one and greet each and every customer waiting to eat my delicious chicken. Imagining such a day overwhelmed me and that’s why I’ve been standing here.”

 A while later, still at the age of 68, Colonel Sanders received his first contract with a restaurant on his 1,009^th try. He was to receive 4 cents for every piece of chicken sold. And thus was the birth of the first KFC restaurant.

Today, there are over 13,000 KFC restaurants in over 100 countries all over the world. It has been 37 years since Colonel Sanders has passed away, but his face, in his iconic white suit, still smiles upon all the customers that come to eat his famous chicken.

 

2. When he was down, hopeless, and deep in despair, God sent Colonel Sanders a one-legged janitor joyfully singing hymns and called on him. The Holy Spirit touched his heart, gave him hope, healed him, and gave him new strength. God does not seek to change our circumstances for us; He wants to change our attitudes and how we approach such circumstances.

 

A) Isaac’s Difficult Situation

In today’s scripture, we can see that famine swept through the land of Canaan where Abraham’s son Isaac resided. Isaac and his family flee to Egypt in order to escape the famine. on their way, they come to the Philistine land of Gerar, where their King was hostile and sent them away. There, the Lord appears before Isaac and tells him to stay and to not go to Egypt.

 

In verse 2, God says to Isaac, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live,” and then he promises Isaac blessings.

 

Verses 3 and 4 continue, “3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,”

 

Anyone who looked at Egypt knew that it was a fruitful nation with a bountiful river running right through it. It looks ideal to anyone, especially to the Israelites suffering from famine. But in Isaiah 31:1-3, God says:

 

“1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy one of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. 2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words. He will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers. 3 But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God; their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, those who help will stumble, those who are helped will fall; all will perish together.”

 

Egypt had food, horses, and power, but it was also filled with idols and idolaters. Hence, God saw evil in fleeing to Egypt and told Isaac to stay where he was instead.

 

Sometimes, we too look at the material things and run to them for security. When we look for a job, money is often the top concern. But if the money comes at the price of giving up your faith, you must give up the paycheck. We are not servants to money; we are servants of God.

 

Temporary compromises can be made, but you can never give up your duties and life of faith all together for money. Choosing money may not seem so bad at first; in fact, it will feel like the better choice. But the repercussions of such a decision are not immediate; great losses will take place later on.

 

During Jeremiah’s time, the people of Judah also chose to run to Egypt. Jeremiah warned against it, but they did not listen. They thought Egypt was the safer and better choice. But later on, most of them ended up killed or they died of illness.

 

Gerar may belong to the Philistines, but on a larger scope, the land still is an extended part of Canaan. Therefore, remaining in that land ensures that: ① God will be with Isaac and bless him ② He will receive the blessing of Canaan ③ His descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and they will receive all of these lands ④ Through his offspring, all the nations on earth will be blessed.

 

If Isaac stays in the promise of the Word of our faithful God, all of his children, Israel, and the world will be blessed. It was the secret to receiving a great blessing for all things.

 

B) Stay in Faith

Then, what does this scripture ultimately mean? It means that we should not be swept, swayed, or dismayed by the realities of our circumstances. Instead, we must look to our God, the source of life and blessing, and serve Him, obey Him, and live in faith.

Isaac obeyed God’s command and stayed. And just as God promised, He blessed Isaac. Genesis 26:12-14, “12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”

 

In this passage, the key focus point is that “the Lord blessed him.” The focus isn’t on Isaac and his work. His bounty of crops, livestock, wealth, and even servants all came from God and His blessings.

 

Later on, in verse 26, we see that Abimelek, the king of the Philistines who had once turned them away, comes to Isaac and tells him, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

Isaac accepted this treaty and to commemorate the event, he held a great feast for all.

 

Today, all of us live with unexpected circumstances constantly thrown at us. But God teaches us this: Do not give in to your circumstances; remain in me.

 

John 15: 4-5 says, “4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

If we focus on our situation and circumstances, we lose sight of the Lord. When Peter was looking at Jesus walking on the water in the fierce storm, he too could walk on water. But the moment he looked away and saw where he was, he sank.

 

We cannot look to our circumstances or our own strengths. Turn to the Lord; lean on Jesus; pray with earnest sincerity; and act on faith. If we do so, some day we will reap 100 fold what we sowed and become the recipients of God’s great blessings.

 

021117 by Ik s. Ahn