Combining Natural and Supernatural

This excerpt explores the biblical principle of combining natural and supernatural elements in our faith walk, especially in times of lack or difficulty. Drawing from the story of Isaac sowing during a famine, it highlights how obedience and bold seed-sowing unlock God’s miraculous provision. When we offer our natural steps in faith, God adds His super—resulting in everyday miracles and extraordinary breakthrough.

Saint Augustine of Hippo once made a profound observation about how God’s power works in our lives: “Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not.”

I love Augustine’s quote, because it describes the divine-human partnership through which most miracles occur. Yes, God created the universe without any human participation, but most of His subsequent miracles happened when He added His “SUPER” to someone’s “NATURAL.”

In other words, nearly every miracle in the Bible happened when someone took a step of faith and obedience to give the Lord something to work with. We saw this in the last chapter: Moses’ rod, Samson with the jawbone of a donkey, David’s slingshot and stones, and the loaves and fish donated by a young boy.

Put simply, God isn’t going to infuse things with supernatural power if you’ve never surrendered them to Him. Yes, He’s the God of the supernatural. But in order for Him to provide His super, you must first give Him your natural.

The Law of Seedtime and Harvest is a great example of this principle. In and of itself, a seed is nothing special – just a “natural” object. However, everything changes when that seed is sown in faith and obedience for God’s Kingdom purposes. When that happens, God adds His super to that natural object, and the result is a miraculous harvest.

This principle is illustrated in a fascinating story about Isaac, found in Genesis 26. He is just one of many biblical examples of how obedience, faithfulness, and expectant seed-sowing can result in an outpouring of God’s harvest blessings – even during times of famine and hardship.

There was a famine in the land … Then the LORD appeared to him [Isaac] and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham you father …”

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 (Genesis 26:1-14).

During a time of famine, God told Isaac not to go down to Egypt, where he would have had plenty of food and water for his household. Instead, he was to remain in the land God had promised to his father Abraham.

Don’t Look to Egypt!

When we read a reference to Egypt in the Bible, it refers not only to a physical, geographical location, but also to a spiritual parallel of the world’s system and its way of doing things. In essence, God was commanding Isaac, “Don’t look to the world or to natural things to provide for you during this time of famine. Look to Me!”

Imagine what it meant for Isaac to stay where there was a “famine in the land.” He faced the terrifying prospect of terrible thirst … starvation … extreme lack … dire need … and a barren, unfruitful wasteland.

Despite this desperate situation, God told Isaac to remain in the Promised Land. With a future that looked bleak, Isaac could have been tempted to doubt God’s love and provision.

But Isaac’s faith in God’s provision and faithfulness rose up within him, giving him the courage to obey the Lord and wait expectantly for His blessing. Even in the midst of the famine, he knew his source was God and God alone.

I’ve always wondered if Isaac’s faith was bolstered by what had happened when he was a boy and his father Abraham took him up on Mount Moriah as a sacrifice to the Lord (Genesis 22). Was he recalling the terrible moment when his father tied him to an altar in obedience to the divine command – only to have a ram provided by the Lord instead at the last moment? And was his faith still encouraged by memories of how his father’s obedience had led to the revelation of God as Jehovah-Jireh – his faithful Provider?

While we may never know what was going on in Isaac’s mind and heart when he reached this critical crossroads in his life, we know what he DID during this famine:

Isaac sowed seeds!

Keep in mind that in a time of famine, seeds are very precious. They are the only hope for a future harvest, so you surely don’t want to waste them. No one in their right mind plants seeds when there’s no water, because seeds cannot grow without it.

I don’t know about you, but many people are tempted to hoard their seeds during times of insecurity and lack. But not Isaac! He chose to trust God and sow seeds in the Promised Land even amid a terrible drought all around him.

And what happened when Isaac took a bold step of faith to sow seeds in the middle of this terrible drought? God prospered him!

Look again at what this passage says. In the very first year, Isaac reaped “a hundredfold.” God didn’t just bless him a little bit for his faithful sowing, but we’re told that he “began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous” (v. 14). Wow. Wouldn’t YOU like to have a life like that?

But remember: This was no ordinary harvest. Normally seeds don’t grow in parched soil. However, because Isaac was operating in faith and obeying the Lord’s instructions, his natural seeds were super-charged with the blessing and favor of God!

Sometimes I meet people who have stopped sowing seeds because they are going through hard times – times of spiritual, emotional, or financial famine. While I’m sympathetic to their plight, I gently point out to them that it’s more important than ever to sow seeds when they’re going through difficult times. Unless they do, they’ll never experience God’s supernatural provision, as we see here in the story of Isaac.

…

Excerpt taken from SuperNatural: God’s Power for Your Breakthrough by David Cerullo

You’re a world changer! Sow a seed today and help share the Gospel with someone who’s never heard.