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1 Peter 5:5-6 – God is in charge of what happens in our lives and we want to strive for patience as we encounter life’s issues.
Isaac doesn’t get a lot of “press” in the Bible. His life only takes up several pages in the Bible, but even a lot of that has to do with his finding a wife!
- Submission to His Father – When Abraham and Isaac were going to the mountain for the sacrifice, he carried the wood for the altar. And then when it became time for the sacrifice he allowed himself to be placed on the altar. He trusted his father.
- He walked in the cool of the evening and was meditating when Eleazar came back.
- He was a sensitive fellow.
- Isaac was praying for his wife and that God would bring them a child.
Isaac Digging Wells
Genesis 26:1-32 – Isaac doesn’t just sit and passively accept bad circumstances. He actively worked to better his circumstances.
God had promised to bless Isaac and now he is. Things are going well, except for a relationship problem with his neighbors. Abimelek and his people are envious. They were afraid of Isaac, and came to him and said “you are too strong for us… you should probably leave!”
Wouldn’t it make the most sense that Isaac would say “Well why don’t you go? If I am stronger than you?” Isaac doesn’t do this, instead he moves his tents and his herds.
After Isaac moved away Abimelek came to visit and wanted to swear an oath amongst themselves that they wouldn’t harm each other.
Digging wells is a tough job, sometimes the walls cave in and there are other things that can go wrong. Oh… and remember that they were definitely digging these by hand!
When you get done with digging a well you’d like to have some benefits from your hard work. Perhaps you’d like to sit under a tree and sip some nice cool sweet water.
The people came to him from that area and said “this is our water! You go somewhere else!”
So Isaac moved and dug another well… and the exact same thing happened. Isaac explains to his family that God was still in control, and He would take care of things. Isaac once again moved his family and once again they started to dig another well.
This well was a good one, and the neighbors didn’t come and cause problems. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
Before too long, what do you know… Isaac held the well loosely. He accepted the well as a gift from God, and walked away, moving his family back to Beersheba. When they got to Beersheba he dug another well!
What can we learn from this story?
Isaac was trying to find the source of life, not just water. He was actively involved in searching for and seeking God.
When difficult things come our way let us remember that God has a bigger thing going on. Let us not strive against men, or against each other.
God is in control. Let us continue to humbly serve him and seek peace with both God and Man.