A man and his wife were walking in a crowd. The husband delighted his wife by taking her had. She asked, “You don’t want to lose me?” He replied, “I don’t want to have to look for you.” Hodgin, Michael. 1001 Humorous Illustrations # 824 P.312.
Isn’t that the way we are? We don’t want to have to do anything for God’s blessing. God, just lay it in us!
“Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.” Gen. 26:17:18
I. God’s blessings often must be evoked.
These were the same wells Abraham had dug. They didn’t just start digging and hoped for water. They had to remember where the wells were. We have a memory problem. We forget that God wants to bless us if we will allow Him. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Could our problem be that we are not experiencing His blessing because we are not depending on the Holy Spirit to remind us, and thus far He hasn’t.
We need to remember that our circumstances are not an indication of God’s love. He has proven His love at the cross.
Try to imagine what Isaac was feeling at this moment. There was a shortage of everything (famine vs.1). Isaac wants to go to Egypt, God says no; stay where you are until I tell you where to go. Isaac stayed, sowed and reaped 100 fold. Isaac is thinking, God is good. Then out of nowhere, Ambimelech runs him off. He is looking for a place to live, to eat, etc. I wonder, at that moment was he doubting God’s love, God’s commitment to him? And then see God gently remind Isaac of His provision. “Your father’s wells” God gently whispered.
That is us. We forget the love of God! Our memory needs to be evoked.
II. God’s blessings often must be explored.
Once they remembered the wells, they had to look for them. The wells just didn’t pop up. Effort was made to remember exactly where they were, and to find them.
There is a story of a family unpacking at their new home. After finishing unpacking they realized that their dog was missing. Concerned that she couldn’t find her way back home in such unfamiliar surroundings, they all loaded in the car to search for her. They drove around and around with no luck. Not far from their house there was a man sitting on a porch. They stopped and asked if he had seen their dog. He said, “Yes, she has been following you car for the last 10 minutes.” Hodgin, Michael. 1001 More Humorous Illustrations. # 682 p. 242.
Sometimes in looking for God’s blessing we overlook the obvious.
Have you ever gone back to find something you left years ago? Things have a way of changing. Weeds grow, trees grow, and things change. I went and visited where I lived as a boy 15 years ago. Things change. Isaac had to remember. And then he had to search and explore to find the wells.
We often think that God’s blessing should just pop up. Some do! More often than not though God asks us to look for them. God has strategically placed His blessings where we could find them if we are listening to Him. God wants us to remember that He loves us and wants to bless our lives. This should motivate us to seek our His blessings.
III. God’s blessings often must be excavated.
After they remembered, and then searched and found the well, there was still work to be done. They weren’t satisfied yet. Can you imagine needing water and finding a well and stopping at this point? Saying, “well we have done our part. Our job is over.” Can you see yourself becoming comfortable or complacent? Or would you become discouraged when the well is filled with dirt. You cannot forget that the Philistines had filled them with dirt. They have the source of water, but who wants to work to get it? We often do this. Our marriages for instance. We know that our spouse is a gift from God. We know that we love them and they love us. However, every marriage runs into the wall. A time where the honeymoon is over and the work truly begins.
Church is not any different. We get a new pastor or a new responsibility and man is it fun for a while. But when the new rubs off, the labor is still there. God is still calling us to fulfill His purpose. Any willing to do the work? The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few.
Not forgetting those who sabotage us. Those who fill our wells so that we cannot obtain our blessings. Those who gossip about others, those who try to destroy people with their words and or actions, those who spitefully do things to cause others to fail.
See the response of Isaac. He may have gotten discouraged, as anyone would; He may have felt frustrated, anger, and so forth, but he didn’t allow it to stop him from doing what needed to be done. To often we allow our circumstances to prohibit us from accomplishing God’s work and will. God always asks something similar to the Verizon commercial, “Do you believe me now? OK, do you believe me now?” At whatever point that we say, “No God, I can’t believe”, we have just allowed those who fill our wells to have victory. God is willing to bless you in spite of their efforts to discourage you! It is always our responsibility to believe! We must realize that when we say, “But God, they did …., they filled my well. That is why I …” God’s simples response is, “Do you believe that I am God? If yes, then why didn’t you believe that I could bless you in spite of that.”
IV. God’s blessings cause us to evade our selfishness.
Now this is a tough one to those of us, myself included, who live in the flesh. Isaac did the work, he remembered, searched for the well, excavated the dirt, and just when he was about to reap his reward, he gave it away. Now get this, those whom he gave it to didn’t lift a hand and were very rude. They simply came in and said, “This is ours.” Now I don’t know about you, but when I put forth the effort of accomplishing a task, go the extra mile to do what needs to be done, when it is time to reap I want my reward. Those few times that I choose to give it away is because that I choose to do so. No one comes in and demands it. I choose to give it away. If someone demands it, I probably would keep it just for spite! Isaac shows us the true meaning of the verse Paul wrote to Timothy, “23But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all,” 2 Timothy 2:23-24.
That is exactly what Isaac did here. He avoided foolish and ignorant disputes. He chose to be gentle to all. That means that in a famine when your family is in need, when your servants are in need, when your animals are in need, you trust that God knows all of that, and show your faith by avoiding strife! Did someone say that faith was easy?
What happens, God gives another well, and the same thing happens again. However God gives another well, Isaac names it “spacious” because now there is room. God in His goodness provides Isaac another well as “well”! GOD IS GOOD!
Don’t forget the famine, yet God blessed Isaac, a hundredfold, and became very prosperous. Vs. 12-13 It is easy for us to say, I have been to every house, I know every person, they just won’t come, therefore I don’t need to go visit. It is easy to find excuses not to do something when we have failed before. It is easy to be uncommitted to building God’s kingdom. To excuse ourselves by saying, “I want to do something, just tell me what to do”. God is calling us to discover old wells of blessings that He has for us. Do you believe that He can bless us? Are you willing to commit to do His work? Are you willing to make the necessary changes? We need to remember that it is not about building this church, it’s about building God’s kingdom. Will you respond today?
God’s hidden blessings. Gen. 26:17-18
Discovering the blessings that God has for us.
I. God’s blessings often must be _____________.
II. God’s blessings often must be _____________.
III. God’s blessings often must be _____________.
IV. God’s blessings cause us to ___________ our selfishness.
