Genesis Series #51 June 23, 2002
Title: 4 Principles for Responding to Adversity Successfully
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Welcome to New life in Christ. Today we continue with message #51 in our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Genesis.
Read Genesis 26:12-34
Opening Prayer
Country singer Paul Overstreet wrote a song about this story from Genesis 26, which contains an important lesson for us. In this song Isaac is renamed Ike. Listen to the lyrics:
Ike had a blessing from the Lord up above,
Gave him a beautiful woman to love,
A place to live, some land to farm,
Two good legs and two good arms.
The Devil came sneaking around one night,
Decided he would do a little evil to Ike.
Figured he hit ole Ike where it hurts so he
Filled up all Ike’s wells with dirt
Ike went out to get his morning drink,
Got a dip full of dirt and his heart did sink
He knew it was the Devil so he said with a grin
God blessed me once, he can do it again
So when the rains don’t fall, and the crops all fail,
And the cow ain’t putting any milk in the pail,
Don’t sit around waiting for a check in the mail,
Just pick up your shovel and dig another well,
Pick up your shovel and dig another well.
As I meditated on the Scripture text today and thought about this song, I was reminded of the different ways that different Believers respond to opposition and adversity. Some Christians respond very successfully to adversity. By successfully I mean that despite the adversity in their life, their faith is strengthened, their walk with God progresses, and they continue to draw close to him and receive his blessings and provision for their life. In other words, they do like Ike did in the song. They say, "God blessed me once and he can do it again." Because they believe this they "pick up their shovel and dig another well."
+Unfortunately not every Christian responds to adversity successfully. Some people are defeated rather than victorious as they face the various problems of life. Instead of praising God and walking in faith and perseverance, they develop a "woe is me" attitude. The adversity or opposition has little positive consequences because of how they respond to it. With that in mind I will share with you from today’s text 4 principles for responding to adversity successfully.
1. First Principle: Christians should expect adversity.
I really believe that an essential key for overcoming adversity is to realize that it is the norm for the Christian life. This does not mean that believers should desire adversity or trouble. This does not mean that we should consider every little problem an attack from Satan. It just means we should realize that God’s blessed and loved people will undergo real adversity.
In Genesis 26 we learn that Isaac was a man of God, who did what God said by staying in the land despite a famine, and who was promised the blessings of God. In vs. 12-14 we see some of those blessings being manifest by the provision of crops and flocks despite the famine. Yet despite God’s promises of blessing, we also see Isaac beginning to face serious adversity and opposition in verses 15, 16. His wells, which were the tangible and symbolic sign of God’s blessing, were stopped up by the Philistines. He was forced to move from his land by Abimelech and even after he left he faced more adversity and opposition. This teaches us and shows us that receiving God’s blessings doesn’t mean having an easy life. The two should not be equated.
1. First Principle: Christians should expect adversity.
As a Christian you basically become a target for Satan directly and indirectly. He will oppose you and cause trouble through various means including: other people, government opposition, health problems, financial adversity, family struggles, etc... Because this is true, none of us should be surprised by adversity, but rather we should expect it.
Jesus himself said, "In this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world." The Apostle Paul said, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22)." The Apostle Peter said, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you (1 Peter 4:12)." James the brother of Jesus said, "Consider its pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2)."
Every believer, no matter how spiritual or faithful, will face troubles and trials. We should expect adversity and that will help us overcome adversity successfully. For example, I expected my entry into the Army to be extremely difficult, so I was prepared for it and was successful. Many others quit after only a week or two of basic training because they did not expect those kinds of hardships. Success in part depends on our expectations.
1. First Principle: Christians should expect adversity.
This is the first principle for responding to adversity successfully. What is the second?
2. Second Principle: Christians should persevere during adversity.
Read Verses 17-22
Isaac faced continued opposition and adversity. Every step forward led to two steps backward. Keep in mind that in ancient times few things were more important than wells. It was an arid land where water was rare and yet was needed for people, and to keep the livestock alive and flourishing. Wells were difficult to dig through hard earth and rock, and often this was done without success. This was serious adversity and setbacks Isaac was facing.
Despite the difficulties, Isaac did not throw down his shovel and quit. No, he persevered. He could have sit around and cried and complained about the disappointments of the past, but that would only lead to failure. If you want to be spiritually successful and experience the life God intends for you, you will have to persevere during adversity. Here’s an example of how God would have us respond to adversity.
Many years ago a little girl was totally blind. She was blinded as an infant as the result of an accident. She lived to be over 90 years old. She became well-known in the American church. She wrote many popular Christian songs and choruses. Her name was Fanny Crosby. When she was only eight years old, she wrote:
Oh, what a happy child I am, although I cannot see.
I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy that other people don’t.
To weep and sigh because I’m blind--I cannot and I won’t.
Citation: John Yates II, "The Man Born Blind," Preaching Today, Tape No. 46.
Life can be very unfair. People and circumstances can hurt you and steal from you what is not rightfully theirs. At that point you will have a choice, you can look back at what has been lost or you can look ahead in faith for God to provide again. Here’s another example of persevering despite adversity.
When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them. At age nine, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good enough. At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store. At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay. At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him. She said no. At 37, on his third try he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected. At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate. At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost. At 51, he was elected president of the United States. His name was Abraham Lincoln, a man many consider the greatest leader the country ever had. Some people get all the breaks.
Citation: Unknown, Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 1.
2. Second Principle: Christians should persevere during adversity.
Now let’s move on to the third principle for responding to adversity successfully.
3. Third Principle: Christians should believe God will bless them despite adversity.
In the second principle I said that Christians need to persevere to be successful over adversity. This does not mean I believe in human ability to overcome any obstacle and ultimately achieve success. I don’t think that believers should persevere because they believe in the power of perseverance rather because they believe in the power of God. The believer is able to endure and persevere because they know that God can bless them despite the adversity. This is what we see in the example of Isaac. No matter how many wells the Philistines stopped up or stole, God just blessed him again with another well, until they finally gave up as we see in verse 22.
It was not normal to find good wells so easily. It was only by the blessing of God that this could be done. In fact, Abimelech who was King of the Philistines, admitted as much in verse 28 where he said, "We see clearly that the Lord is with you. . ." Here’s the main point: We’re only going to be able to overcome and endure adversity if we believe God can bless us anyways. We need to be able to say, "God blessed me once and he can do it again."
So far I’ve shared from this text three principles for responding to adversity successfully.
1. Christians should expect adversity.
2. Christians should persevere during adversity.
3. Christians should believe God will bless them despite adversity.
Now let’s move on to the fourth principle for responding to adversity successfully.
4. Fourth Principle: Christians should recognize the good that can come from adversity.
We will face and respond to troubles and trials differently if only we recognize the good that God can bring out of them. Now you may be saying to yourself, "I can see that God can bless us despite adversity, but did anything really good come because of the adversity?" The answer is "yes." We shall see two good things there were direct result of Isaac’s adversity.
Read Verses 23-32
A ship was wrecked, and the only survivor washed up on a small uninhabited island. He was exhausted. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon, searching for help. Finally, he managed to build a rough hut and put his few articles in that hut. One day, coming home from hunting for food, he was stung with grief to see his little hut in flames and a cloud of smoke. The worst had happened. But early the next day, a ship drew in and rescued him.
He asked the crew, "How did you know I was here?" They replied, "We saw your smoke signal." Maybe the difficulty you have now is a smoke signal that will lead to great blessing.
Citation: John Yates, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Preaching Today, Tape No. 110.
Our troubles can actually turn into blessings. In what way? First they can draw us close to God. That is what we see in the account of Isaac. I want you to notice that Isaac "went up to Beersheba (vs. 23)." Now you may be saying, "So what? Why is this important or good?" Well Isaac started in the land of Gerar which is located outside of the Promised Land and he would have been content to stay there but the adversity forced him to move toward Beersheba which is located in the Promised Land. The Promised Land represents the place of God’s special presence, so figuratively speaking Isaac moved closer to God because of the adversity. God had used these troubles not to destroy Isaac but to bring him into deeper relationship with himself. He will do the same with us!
It is no coincidence that it is when Isaac enters Beersheba that the Lord meets with him in a special way and that it is there that Isaac builds an altar to acknowledge and to worship the Lord. Through adversity Isaac has been brought into a closer and deeper relationship with God. Isaac had been in danger of drifting away from the Lord, but now God has used adversity to bring him back to the place he needed to be.
4. Fourth Principle: Christians should recognize the good that can come from adversity.
The second good thing that resulted from adversity was that others could see the wonderful way the Lord was working through Isaac’s adversity. In verses 26-28 we learn that the Philistine leaders had been watching Isaac and that they had to admit that he must have something special in his life if he could overcome and be blessed despite his problems. They had come to the point where they had to say, "God must be with you." The problems in our life are often an opportunity for others to see and glorify God!
Conclusion: Isaac was a man who experienced setbacks, opposition, failures, and difficult situations yet in God’s strength he was successful at overcoming adversity. The same can be true for you and for me also if we apply these 4 principles for responding to adversity successfully.
1. Christians should expect adversity.
2. Christians should persevere during adversity.
3. Christians should believe God will bless them despite adversity.
4. Christians should recognize the good that can come from adversity.
Closing Prayer
