By“That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” — Genesis 26:24 NIV
To reiterate something means to say again or repeat it over and over. There’s a saying that goes, “repetition is for emphasis.” In other words, what you do or say repetitively builds your concentration on it. People who’re always with God speak the words of God. Married people talk about marriage and relationships more often. People who live visionary lives always talk about impending projects and things to do in the future. It isn’t just a natural principle. It’s God-ordained.
What you do or say repetitively builds your concentration on it.
There are several times in the Bible that God has appeared to His people, especially in the Old Testament, only to reiterate His promises and prophecies upon their lives. Usually, He has two reasons for doing them:
- To encourage His people to press on
- To guard His people against forgetting His promises.
In Genesis 26, we see the narration of a portion of Isaac’s lifetime in the Bible. There was a famine. So he moved to Gerar, a Philistine land, in preparation to go to Egypt when that famine became severe. God instructed him to stay in that land. Isaac went on to plant, and because of the invisible hand of God upon his household, he had a hundredfold harvest, even in the season of famine. The Philistines envied him and covered a well Isaac’s servants had dug for water with sand.
Later, king Abimelech, the king of the land of Gerar, told Isaac to leave their town. And after they left, the scriptures record that Isaac’s men dug three different wells in the valley of Gerar. For the first two, the Philistines argued against him for their possession because of the land he had dug on. But for the last one, Isaac had full ownership of the well, naming it Rehoboth (Genesis 26:23).
After all these struggles, God appeared to Isaac in Genesis 26:24 to remind him of His promises upon His life as part of the dream of God in the Abrahamic covenant. My question is, why did He do that?
God saw that Isaac really suffered to possess his last well. So by doing that, Isaac will be encouraged, strengthened, and empowered to keep the prophecies upon his life in his heart.
Sometimes, we go through many life challenges that, without God helping us to remember His plan for our lives individually, we can get despaired of living. Child of God, when God shows even little excerpts of His plans concerning your life, write them down and keep them at a place you’ll see them frequently. Anytime you see it, you’ll instantly reiterate the promises of God in your life. You’ll daily remember that because of Him, you have a reason to live. Continue pressing on. God is with you.
You’re a blessing.
Devotional Code: KGD // 2022 – 137
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