Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper and continued prospering until he became very prosperous (Gen. 26:12-13).
As we continue in our focus on God as God of increase this season, it is fitting for us to see directly from the scripture, how God manifests His ability to bring increase into our lives. The case in point for this write-up, as amplified in our anchor verse, is Isaac (Gen. 26:12). The very first thing to highlight is that every increase is a result of some seed that has been sown. There cannot be increase without having sown a seed. Apostle Paul attested to this fact when he declared, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1Cor. 3:6). Increase does not come from a vacuum or from nothing. It is what we have sowed that God will water to bring about increase.
This knowledge is important at this crucial time, as we seek the face of the Lord for increase, in the sense that we ought to be sensitive to leverage on every opportunity to sow.
In our anchor scripture, Isaac started by sowing in the land and ended up becoming very prosperous (Gen. 26:12-13). This clearly highlights the fact that increase always starts with some form of sowing and that sowing is a means to an end – which is the benefit. The book of proverbs puts it simply as follows, “to all labour there is profit”, in the sense that every labour is a seed, and the profits thereof is the increase (Prov. 14:23).
However, when we look more closely at our anchor verse still, there are more vital points that connect the sowing to the phase of increase, and we must equally pay attention to these. One of such points is that God blessed Isaac or God blessed his seed (Gen. 26:12). It is not enough for us to sow, our seed that we sowed must be blessed. It is the blessing of God upon the seed that activates the increase that we desire. This means that it is possible for the seed not to produce any increase if it is not blessed. This point is buttressed in the parable of the Sower in which some seeds did not yield any increase for various reasons, which can be summarized to mean that they were not blessed (Matt. 13:3-8). Therefore, whenever we sow and get increase, we should be thankful to God.
Another point we see in the story of Isaac is the fact that his increase did not happen suddenly all at once, but step-wise and continuously. The scripture makes it clear that he “began to prosper, continue to prosper till he became very prosperous” (Gen. 26:13). This, in fact, is the way of God and one of the parameters that confirm that it is God who is at work in any increase we get in our lives. Once God starts with us, He continues to bring the increase to us, from one level, to another, and He never stops!
To this extent, we read from the scripture, they go “from strength to strength (Psa. 84:7); or ‘the path of the just is like a shining light, that shines ever brighter (brighter and brighter) unto a perfect day’ (Prov. 4:18). But of course, this is contingent on the fact that we do not stop sowing. As we look unto God for increase this season, may that be our testimonies, in Jesus’ name!