WHEN YOU OVERSTAY YOUR TIME

Do you realize that you can overstay your time in a place that will result in a traumatic experience to get you back to where you belong? This scenario was played out in Israel numerous times, and they proved everyone does not learn from the mistakes of others.

A significant example of this is the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. Their story goes like this: God sent Abraham to the land of Canaan and promised to bless him, make his name great, make a great nation from him and cause him to be a blessing. This promise was not just for Abraham but also for his descendants. After spending years in Canaan God informed Abraham that his descendants would leave Canaan and be an alien, become a servant and be persecuted in another land; however, after four hundred years they would come out with great substance. (Genesis 15:13-14).

This happened during the lifetime of Jacob and his family when, during a time of famine, they departed Canaan and went to Egypt. The famine lasted seven years; however, instead of returning to Canaan at the end of the famine they stayed. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was the second in command in Egypt, and his family was treated royally; so they became comfortable and contented. After many years, God allowed another Pharaoh who knew not Joseph to become the ruler, and he did not trust the allegiance of the Israelites, so he made them servants and mistreated them. This ill-treatment caused them to cry, and God responded to them and used Moses to deliver them.

If Israel had not overstayed their time, they would not have experienced hardship. Now, I must ask you, “Are you like Israel, are you out of your place of blessing because of a famine (things not flourishing as you expected)?” Did you go somewhere and get comfortable, but now everything has become chaotic? Have you been depressed and crying because you are miserable? Are you praying and asking God why things are no longer working out for you? Well, your solution is to go and stay in the place where God has assigned you.

For great success, be like Isaac. During a time of famine, Isaac thought about leaving the land of promise with his family, but God spoke to him and said, “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 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; 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” (Genesis 26:2-4).

Isaac obeyed God and stayed in Gerar. The result of his obedience was recorded in Genesis 26:26-14a, which states, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants.”

So, I close this blog with these thoughts, “There is a blessing in staying, and there is a reward for returning to your promise land.”