Tuesday Reflection December 1, 2020

Your Story, Your Path, Your Blessing.

Many times we follow paths that have been travelled by others before us not because it was our path but because those who traveled before us did so with some measure of success. In today’s watchword we see the Lord guiding Isaac to take a different path from the one taken by his father even though the situation Isaac was facing was the same one his father faced. I speak of a famine that forced Abraham to leave the Promised Land to go to Egypt where he got into problems with Pharaoh over his wife. In the case of Isaac there was also a famine that caused him to move but God told him to follow a different path, one that would guarantee his blessings. The Lord said to Isaac, “Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you.” Genesis 26: 3

Isaac’s story was not the same as his father’s nor was the path he was to trod the same. Like his father, he had to leave where he was to find provision for his clan. Like his father he decided to pretend that his wife was his sister because of fear. Like his father the king welcomed him. The stories may sound similar, but they are not the same. Isaac was destined to travel his path as his story unfolded and experience the blessings that God had in store for him. Note however that while in Abraham’s case he decided to go to Egypt, in Isaac’s case the Lord told him to remain in the land of promise. Gen 12: 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. Interestingly, even while creating his own story, Isaac’s life merged with his father’s story, even while on the path God chose for him, Isaac veered onto his father’s path. Have you ever stopped to ponder whose story you are living? Whose path you are following? For years I followed a path that was not mine, living a story that I was so familiar with, but that was not mine either, until God called me out and established me on the path He had chosen for me. Obedience to God’s leading guarantees the blessing that is meant for you. Remember that Isaac was still being blessed based on God’s promise to Abraham. His obedience to God now however would be rewarded with new and greater blessings.

Today let us examine our story, our path. Is your journey one that is pleasing to God, to self, or to others? Remember that God does not leave us without a helper and guide. The Holy Spirit is our constant companion and points us in the right direction. John 14: 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. When you depend on the leading of the Spirit you will be strengthened, protected, and blessed in accordance with God’s promises. My prayer then is that like Isaac we will learn to walk daily with God, surrendered to His will, guided by the Holy Spirit. I pray that we grow in obedience to His leading looking only to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In this way we each will be living our own story as we travel our path and reap the blessings that God has in store for us. Amen.