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In 2024 keep in mind that as you go through hard times as long as God is with you and blessing you even in hard times they can be hard times for everyone else, but not you. When God is with you and blessing you his blessing is powerful enough to keep you provided with all you need regardless of what is going on around you. God's blessing is designed to keep you prospering regardless of what is going on around you. In Genesis 26 it was hard times for everyone in the land except for the one God was with and promised to bless. And it reads in Genesis 26 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. God didn't tell him to go somewhere where the grass was green and everything was flourishing, He told him to stay somewhere where everything was dried up and nothing was flourishing. But, the difference was "I'll be with you and bless you."
And in verses 12-16 it reads Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. 15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. Notice, Isaac sowed in that land, where there was no water and got an hundredfold. Now, this is not some little garden behind his tent. He had family, servants, herds they all have to eat too. Why did they envy him, because things were working for him that weren't working for everyone else, the earth is producing for him when it's not supposed to, there is no water, no rain, and the wells are stopped up. So things are working for him supernaturally. And when people see things working for you when they are going wrong for everyone else you will stick out. So, they're watching this man doing things and prospering at a time when everyone else wasn't. Things were working for this man that wasn't working for anybody else. And it scared them, "Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we."
And in verses 26-29 it reads Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. Notice, you stick out when they see a difference between you and them. They saw certainly that The Lord was with him. What was the difference, The Lord was with him and blessed him. And in Exodus with the 10 plagues the children of Israel was in that same land and yet those things where happening around them and yet not happening to them. In one instance God said, "I'm going to separate my people from your people. Exodus 8:20-23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. God knows how to separate his people from others.
Just like the scripture says, a thousand shall fall at thy right hand and ten thousand at thy left hand, but it will not come near you. Just because something is happening to everyone else doesn't mean it has to happen to you. If God is with you and blessing you, you are not like everyone else. God's people stick out best when everyone else is at their worst. Light shines best in darkness. Don't join in their darkness bring them your light. Show them there's a better way. When Jesus showed Peter there was a better way when he caught that boat load of fish it brought him to his knees, he fell at Jesus knees. Luke 5:4-9 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. That's what God wants his people to do, show the world God's goodness that will bring them to their knees.
God can bless others through you, Gen. 39:5 5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to others. Gen. 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. God wants people blessed, that was his will in the beginning, and it is still his will now and always. And the way the blessing spreads to others is through his people. So, God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to someone else. And the blessing of The Lord is powerful. When the blessing of The Lord is at work in a person's life things work for you that don't work for others. Notice, when Peter caught that boat sinking load of fish it was out of the ordinary, you fish at night not in the daytime when the fish can see the nets. But, when the blessing is at work things can work out even when they are not suppose to.
So, as you go through 2024 my prayer is God be with you and bless you
It is not God's will that any should perish. And I wouldn't want to end this article without giving someone the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It's very easy just pray: Dear God- I know I have sinned and I now turn from them and I invite Jesus to come into my heart (Revelation 3:20). He died for my sins and you have raised him from the dead and I now confess that Jesus is my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9,10). I thank you for saving me, Amen
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). 1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
And in verses 12-16 it reads Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. 15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. Notice, Isaac sowed in that land, where there was no water and got an hundredfold. Now, this is not some little garden behind his tent. He had family, servants, herds they all have to eat too. Why did they envy him, because things were working for him that weren't working for everyone else, the earth is producing for him when it's not supposed to, there is no water, no rain, and the wells are stopped up. So things are working for him supernaturally. And when people see things working for you when they are going wrong for everyone else you will stick out. So, they're watching this man doing things and prospering at a time when everyone else wasn't. Things were working for this man that wasn't working for anybody else. And it scared them, "Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we."
And in verses 26-29 it reads Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. Notice, you stick out when they see a difference between you and them. They saw certainly that The Lord was with him. What was the difference, The Lord was with him and blessed him. And in Exodus with the 10 plagues the children of Israel was in that same land and yet those things where happening around them and yet not happening to them. In one instance God said, "I'm going to separate my people from your people. Exodus 8:20-23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. God knows how to separate his people from others.
Just like the scripture says, a thousand shall fall at thy right hand and ten thousand at thy left hand, but it will not come near you. Just because something is happening to everyone else doesn't mean it has to happen to you. If God is with you and blessing you, you are not like everyone else. God's people stick out best when everyone else is at their worst. Light shines best in darkness. Don't join in their darkness bring them your light. Show them there's a better way. When Jesus showed Peter there was a better way when he caught that boat load of fish it brought him to his knees, he fell at Jesus knees. Luke 5:4-9 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. That's what God wants his people to do, show the world God's goodness that will bring them to their knees.
God can bless others through you, Gen. 39:5 5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to others. Gen. 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. God wants people blessed, that was his will in the beginning, and it is still his will now and always. And the way the blessing spreads to others is through his people. So, God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to someone else. And the blessing of The Lord is powerful. When the blessing of The Lord is at work in a person's life things work for you that don't work for others. Notice, when Peter caught that boat sinking load of fish it was out of the ordinary, you fish at night not in the daytime when the fish can see the nets. But, when the blessing is at work things can work out even when they are not suppose to.
So, as you go through 2024 my prayer is God be with you and bless you
It is not God's will that any should perish. And I wouldn't want to end this article without giving someone the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It's very easy just pray: Dear God- I know I have sinned and I now turn from them and I invite Jesus to come into my heart (Revelation 3:20). He died for my sins and you have raised him from the dead and I now confess that Jesus is my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9,10). I thank you for saving me, Amen
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). 1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.