THE BLESSING OF INCREASE

““Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him” – Genesis 26: 12

INCREASE of any positive nature is the BLESSING of the LORD: “So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the INCREASE” (1 Cor. 3:7). God is behind your Increase in all positive things: spiritual, mental, social, relational, material or ministerial. God is the ultimate Source of every positive Increase: “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great. May the Lord give you INCREASE more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psa.115:12-15). According to the Word of the Lord, my children and I are increasing progressively every day.

Sometimes, we think that the increase which we enjoy is the result of our own diligence, efforts or hard work. While hard work is required and commendable, and one would not advocate laziness, the eternal truth is that God is the One behind our increase.

The story of Ruth reveals this truth. This was a young widow from Moab, who worked as a gleaner in a barley field from morning till evening. Of course, the entire ephah – a substantial 10-day supply – of barley she collected at the end of the day could be attributed to her hard work, as she worked all day in the field. But then, we read about how Boaz, the owner of the field, had secretly told his reapers to “let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her” (Ruth 2:15b). This shows that it was because of Boaz’s intervention that Ruth ended up with so much increase.

The Lord Jesus – our heavenly Boaz – releases similar supernatural blessings upon us today. He causes people to favor us and “drop” or “shower” blessings on us because He loves us. Then, He causes us to “pick up” these blessings. Often, it happens so seemingly naturally we forget that it is the Lord who has blessed us with the increases. Your hard work, though beneficial, is not the primary driver of your increase. It is “God who gives the increase.” He is the One who is behind your increase and He delights in blessing you because He loves you!

The question then is: how do the blessings of Increase materialise in reality? One of the most vital revelations we need to have is that Increase must be established on something that is already in place, either in the form of a “seed” or a “spirit”! For the born-again child of God, on the authority of scriptures: the Seed of Increase and the Spirit of Increase are already in you!

Another vital key is that the Blessing of Increase responds to the Word of Increase, because the Word itself is the most essential seed in the believer’s heart: “the seed is the word of God” (Lk.8:11b). The Word of Increase must be declared and commanded over very seed of service, financial seed – including tithes and offerings, material seed, and other seeds or offerings of love. Such prophetic prayers and declarations must also cover confessing the Spirit of Increase who is already on and in us.

Isaac is another great example of a person who walked in and experienced the Spirit of increase. There was a major famine in the land. But despite what was happening economically, Isaac continued to increase: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him” (Gen.26:12). Prior to this, the spirits of Esek (strife) and Sitnah (opposition) were dislodged Jacob began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous and was ushered into his Rehobaoth (vv.20-22)! Isaac became very wealthy, very quickly. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow, because the Spirit of increase was on him! His was increase in Wealth, but it could be increase in any blessing of value or virtue!