LIVING WATER – EPISODE 632 || 26TH FEBRUARY, 2026
By Solomon Uwumbolibe Mensah
STOP LOOKING; START MOVING
Scripture Reading: Genesis 42:1–2
“When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you just keep looking at each other?’ He continued, ‘I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.’”
The passage before us occurs during a time of severe famine. Hunger had reached Jacob’s household, resources were exhausted, and fear was increasing. Yet what stands out is not only the famine but the reaction of Jacob’s sons. They were standing still, looking at one another, doing nothing. Many believers today are not defeated by lack of opportunity but by inaction. God provides direction, but hesitation delays destiny. This moment in the Book of Genesis teaches powerful lessons about faith, responsibility, and decisive obedience.
1. Crisis Reveals Our True Condition: Jacob’s family faced a real crisis where survival was at stake, yet instead of acting, the sons froze in uncertainty. Hard times expose our mindset: some people panic, some complain, and others wait for someone else to make the first move. Jacob’s question, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” sounded like a loving rebuke against passivity. Often families, churches, businesses, and individuals remain stuck because everyone is waiting for leadership to come from someone else. Delay can become more dangerous than the difficulty itself, because faith is not passive waiting but responsive obedience that moves when God speaks.
2. Information Is Not Enough; Action Is Required: Jacob declared, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt,” meaning they already possessed good news; provision existed, help was available, and survival was possible. However, knowledge alone could not feed them. In the same way, many believers hear sermons, receive prophetic words, gain ideas, and learn strategies, yet remain spiritually and practically hungry because they refuse to act. God often provides direction before provision, requiring faith to take the first step. You must go where God directs in order to receive what God has already prepared.
3. Movement Is the Pathway to Preservation: Jacob’s instruction was clear: “Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” Life required movement, survival required obedience, and provision required humility because they had to travel to Egypt, a place they may not have preferred. Sometimes God’s solution lies in unexpected places. Egypt, once associated with danger, became the place of preservation because God had already sent Joseph ahead of them. This reveals a spiritual truth: when God sends you somewhere, He has already arranged provision before your arrival.
4. Indecision Can Become a Silent Enemy: The brothers were not rebellious; they were simply inactive. Many destinies are delayed not because of sin but because of hesitation, overthinking, fear of failure, or waiting for perfect conditions. Yet faith often begins with imperfect steps taken in obedience. Each believer must ask: What has God already shown me that I have not acted upon? Where am I merely looking at others instead of moving forward? Spiritual growth begins when hesitation ends and obedience begins.
5. God Uses Necessity to Push Us Into Destiny: The famine became the force that moved the brothers toward Egypt, toward Joseph, and ultimately toward reconciliation and restoration. What appeared to be hardship became divine alignment. Sometimes pressure is not punishment but divine positioning, guiding us toward God’s greater purpose. The very situation we try to escape may be the instrument God uses to lead us into fulfillment and breakthrough.
Jacob’s words still echo today: “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” God calls His people to stop waiting, stop comparing, and stop hesitating. There is grain in Egypt provision already prepared; but it requires rising and moving in faith. Destiny responds to action, not observation.
Call to Action: This week, identify one instruction God has already placed in your heart, take one practical step toward it, and trust God for provision as you move. Faith moves before results appear.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, deliver us from fear and hesitation. Give us courage to act on Your word. Where we have been standing still, stir us to move. Lead us to the provision You have already prepared so that we may live and fulfill Your purpose. In Jesus’ name, Amen.