“Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.”

“And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.”

Going to Egypt made the most sense. Just like it made sense to Abraham, and it would later make sense to Jacob in their own famines.

But God defies the formulas we think make the most sense.

Sometimes, despite what feels logical, He tells us to stay. Not just stay, but dwell. Live life in the famine. It doesn’t matter what others have done or will do. It doesn’t matter if leaving makes more sense than staying. If we hear Him say stay, we have to ignore the urge to do what makes sense, to do what is comfortable or easier or makes us look less crazy.

But if we’re searching for God’s heart, we’ll find it here: “I will be with you and will bless you…”.

Famine, difficulty, pain, grief – this earth has all of that and more, and we do not always get to run from it. Sometimes, we just have to stay there and live with God. Because He has promised never to leave us.

And then there’s this little nugget: “And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.” vs. 12

Are you in a land of famine right now? It could be any kind of famine –

Financial, relationship, employment, a famine of emotional support, a famine of purpose, health, joy, peace. Really, we have plenty of famines in our land, and we have nowhere to run from them.

So we may as well sow. Generously and often. With gladness, sow your seeds in the famine, because God is with you in this thing and there will be a reaping.