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When hard times come our way ...

"Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar." (Genesis 26:1-6).
In a time of famine, Isaac is reminded of "the previous famine in Abraham's time" (verse 1) - "Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe." (Genesis 12:10). This time, God says to Egypt, "Do not go down to Egypt ... " (verse 2). When life is difficult, it is easy to get distracted, to lose sight of what God is doing in our life. Again and again, we need to learn the lesson taught by Jesus when He was tempted in the wilderness - ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4). 
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