Don’t Survive: Thrive!

The year 2011 was “The perfect storm”. A “perfect storm” is a particularly terrible storm that happens when several weather factors, each of which would be bad in and of themselves, happen at the same time. In previous years, we’d heard about the global economic crisis but in 2011 we met it face to face! A quote on the Internet that said the only good thing about 2011 is that it’s probably going to be a lot better than 2012. Yet as it 2012 beckons, it seems to be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.

 

 

So how are people responding to all this? Of course the biggest response to these uncertain times is fear. When life gets hard, fear checks in! Many are digging in, and locking into survivor mode. Many are cutting costs and crossing their fingers and lying low. The truth is that many of us have low expectations for the New Year. If we can just get by, that would be fine. We will be happy to simply survive this year.

This is what THRIVE, our first series in 2012 is about. We’ll be looking at the acronym THRIVE to get practical handle on God’s secrets for thriving in difficult times.

T Trust In God
H Hold On To The Dream
R Relate Wisely
I Invest Strategically
V Value Add Always
E Enjoy The Journey

Read Genesis 26:1-17

This was a harsh season for Isaac and his family. Since he was a farmer and rancher by occupation, a year of drought meant back-breaking work with the high probability of low or no returns. It meant that despite all his previous investments, there were high chances that he could face financial failure. It was at that point that made a survival decision. He would move to a foreign country where the economy was not affected by droughts. Like his father Abraham before him, he decided to abandon it all, and get a visa to Egypt. He even began the journey south and made it to a Philistine town called Gerar.

But at that point, God checked in and revealed that He had a different plan. If you would like to thrive in 2012, then the two principles we learn from this story are essential for you, in the face of a year that makes many want to check into survival mode. The first principle is:

1. Trust In God
I suspect many of us can identify with Isaac. Do you trust in God? Of course! But it’s January and all the money was spent over Christmas. School fees still needs to be paid and uniforms still need to be bought: All this in a year of inflation. Of course I want to pay my tithe, and I want to attend church and not miss Life Group. I want to serve in ministry and I want to step out in faith to obey God. But let’s get practical. Surely, even God must understand!

God’s promises can easily pale in the light of harsh and uncertain times. When life becomes hard, fear checks in. We rationalize to ourselves that we just need to sort out stuff first, get a grip of things then we can go back to God. But God commanded Isaac not to hold back or to flee but instead to stay put in that land of hardship, and to obey everything He said.

God’s word for us in 2012: “Put your trust in me! Where the world says chukua control, God is saying wachilia control! Do what I tell you, and trust Me. I can bless you even in that place and time of difficulty.”

God’s blessings are not dependent on the economy!

In 2012, there are many things that will seek to derail you from your path. To make you panic and give up on the best that God has for you. But God says, “Trust in me, don’t make your decisions based on your own wisdom, or on your feelings or on what the experts are saying. Let go and trust me to direct your paths”.
2. Hold On To The Dream
See v.4-6. The second thing Isaac did was to hold on to God’s Promise and to the purpose God had for him. God’s promise was that Abraham’s children would become a blessing to the nations. And here was Isaac running to another nation to be blessed by it. When times are tough it is easy to lose sight of God’s Promise. But it’s in exactly such times that we must hold on to the dream.

God’s promise is the only stable and permanent thing that can anchor us in uncertain times. Hold on to the dream! Do not be like many people who will abandon God’s Dream for their life in seasons of difficulty. A survivor mindset always obscures God’s dream for us. The passion for purpose will be lost; the flame of the dream will die off. Many will say that life happened and the Dream was overtaken by reality. You need to hold on to the Promise even if the prevailing circumstances contradict it.
Remember God’s blessings are not dependent on the economy!

Many times when people encounter opposition, they give up on the vision. They despair and wonder if they heard God in the first place. This is because we don’t understand scripture! Difficulties are not punishment; indeed they are a setup for a Divine Showdown! Sometimes God allows things to become impossible so that when the miracle happens, it will be clear who made it happen! So don’t give up your dream simply because the going got tough!

God’s blessings are not dependent on the economy!

And that’s exactly what happens in Isaac’s case. V.12 tells us, “When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.”
Isaac’s return was not 2x or 5x or even 10x but 100 times what he had planted! That’s 1000% profit! He planted crops and reaped a hundredfold “because the LORD blessed him”. Later on in the chapter the king of Gerar came looking for him accompanied by his royal advisor and army commander. The reason for this high level delegation is that the Philistines wanted to make a treaty with Isaac so that he would never attack them in the future! Even the Philistines could see that God’s hand was upon this man.

God’s blessings are not dependent on the economy!