In recent weeks, I have been captivated by reading and studying the life of Isaac, the promised son of Abraham and Sarah.
His unique example is a great encouragement to each of us as we look to God in this economic melt down. He shows us how we, too, can response to economic challenges and be victorious in tough times like ours.
In the case of Isaac, he was confronted with a famine that was widespread during a time of agricultural disaster. He wanted to go to Egypt to purchase grain for his family and servants. Egypt is symbol of the world's ways of gaining wealth. The tendency or temptation is to abandon honesty, integrity, and righteousness, and do whatever it takes to gain one's goal to get wealth. To yield to the temptation often is a mistake even by Christians.
It seems to me that if we will learn to listen to God and His Word, we will discover that God is every mindful of our situation, and He will direct us just as He directed Isaac to "dwell where God tells us to dwell." God's instructions against depending on Egypt speaks loud and clear throughout Scriptures to His chosen people.
Here's the Scripture text: Genesis 26:12-17:
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
What can we learn from the example of Isaac? I would like to zero in on his method of dealing with conflict.
Isaac refused to strive with the Philistines. He had his servants to re-dig the wells his father had dug and were filled with dirt by the Philistines. He gave each well a name. God would teach us not to argue with men, but put our trust solely in God. The Bible teaches that we should return good for evil. When we truly trust God we will learn that prosperity is determined by God.
Repeatedly, Isaac had to move because of his prosperity. He instructed his servants to dig wells to find water, and invariably the Philistines would show up to claim the fruit of his work. In spite of fighting with them, he deliberately moved on and started all over again.
In the meantime, his enemies had to recognize that God had made him successful. They came to him to make peace with him because of God's favor flowing in his life to make him wealthy.
The lesson we can learn is that we need not be obsessed with those who are out to stop our progress. Instead, we should focus our attention on serving God and obeying His voice.
When we walk with the Lord and delight in His Word, we can avoid being entrapped in conflict, strife and bitterness. There is a time to move on knowing that God has a better plan for us. This is not cowardice at all, but requires moral courage to allow God to approve us and defend us.This stance often requires a longer process, but it is the best method to follow.
When God blesses your success, never take revenge. Isaac could have repaid the people of Gerar in kind for their mistreatment of him, his family, and his servants.
Whenever we go through hard times, sometimes the people we trusted the most may disappoint or even inflict injury. Even when others may not recognize that God has blessed us, do not retaliate with the same kind of behavior. The Apostle Paul said, "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good" and "render to no man evil for evil."
It is our responsibility to remember that it is not by power nor is it by might, but by the Spirit working effectively in our lives to produce what God wants us to demonstrate to the world.
When God gives us blessings and success, remember to give Him all the glory and offer our thanksgiving. Then, God's favor will flow in our lives and ministries.
Posted on
Fri, November 19, 2010
by Hugh Morgan