Last night Pastor Monte preached on Isaac during a famine, (see Genesis 26). He didn’t go to Egypt like Abraham did, he went to Gerar, which means “lodging place.” While he was there, he didn’t just sit around waiting for rain. He planted seeds and cleaned out the wells Abraham had dug.
His hard work paid off – he reaped 100 fold. That’s not double, but 100 times what he planted!
Today we read the story of two baskets of figs: one good, and one bad. The good figs were the people already in captivity! The bad figs were still in Jerusalem. He told them how to live while in captivity.
Jeremiah 29:28, “For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, This captivity will be long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.” Modern English Version
He planted them in Babylon and promised to prosper them there.
Jeremiah 24:6, “For I will set My eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land. And I will build them up and not pull them down. And I will plant them and not pluck them up.” Modern English Version
God planted me in Iowa. Are you trapped, living where you do not want to live? Or are you living in temporary quarters? It doesn’t matter, we are all to do the same thing.
- Plant seeds.
- Work hard.
- Keep moving forward.
- Never stop growing.
- Build your house, or clean and repair your temporary quarters.
The first house we lived in was 100 years old with slanting floors, and gaps in the windows. I folded newspapers and wedged them in the gaps between the window frames. You couldn’t see them unless you were looking straight down. I washed those windows inside and out. The newspapers kept them from rattling and stopped the drafts.
One visitor commented, “It’s so nice to look out of clean windows.” She never noticed the folded newspapers!
When I was housebound, I worked on repairing, and weather proofing the inside of our house. I cleaned closets and cupboards. I sent boxes of stuff to Goodwill. My home is a more pleasant place to live because of my hard work.
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