LET THERE BE LIGHT VIII.
MEMORISE:
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
READ: Genesis 26:1-4.
1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
MESSAGE:
Let there be light could mean “Lord show me the good ground to sow into” on “Lord, show me the business I should venture into”. It could also mean “Lord, show me the solution to the problem(s) I am faced with” as in the case of the bitter water discovered at Mara in Exodus 15:22-26. In that story, many lessons could be learnt. One is that though the physical eyes are good and necessary, the spiritual eyes are far better and more beneficial. At times the solution is right there under our noses, but we may not know until the light of God beams on such a solution. Though the tree that was a solution to the bitterness in the water at Mara was there, they (both the leader and the led) did not see or recognize it until the light of God shone upon it.
You may be a solution to your people, yet not be appreciated to the point of being considered able to help, until the light of God shines upon you. A country did not see the usefulness of a nationalist leader until he died, after which he was declared “The best president they never had”. None of David’s kin was ready to consider him as a possible candidate for the throne until the light of God shone and Samuel anointed him.
In the same vein, you need the light of God to shine upon you before you can choose rightly where to invest your time and energy. To the glory of God, when the light of God shone upon Isaac, he remained in Gerar where he prospered so tremendously that even the king of the land envied him (Genesis 26:12-14). There are categories of soil to sow into, according to the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9). There are soils that represent the wayside; some are good enough to produce in thirties, sixties and hundreds.
We also need to consider the quality of the seed being sown. Beloved, the light of God I required not only to identify the correct soil, but also the right seed to sow. You cannot sow corn in the sea; it would also be an exercise in futility for you to raise fish fingerlings in the desert. One may say these are obvious, but then, that is what many do when they dabble in businesses God has not approved for them. May the light of God lead you from now, in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, shine Your light upon my life, that I may know Your perfect will for me in every aspect of my life, in Jesus’s name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EXODUS 22-25.
HYMN 3: DEEPER, DEEPER IN THE LOVE OF JESUS.
1 Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
o Refrain:
Oh, deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
2 Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
3 Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
4 Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
5 Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.
