His (Isaac’s) shepherds also dug a new well in Gerar Valley, and found a gushing underground spring. Then the local shepherds came and claimed it. “This is our land and our well,” they said, and argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So he named the well, “The Well of Argument!” Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So he called it, “The Well of Anger.” Abandoning that one, he dug again, and the local residents finally left him alone. So he called it, “The Well of Room Enough for Us at Last!” “For now at last,” he said, “the Lord has made room for us and we shall thrive.”
Scripture: Genesis 26
I wonder if this is how the Lord feels sometimes. “So,” He says, “you’ve finally given up trying to do it on your own. How many times did you say you were going to do it yourself? You thought you’d hit the lottery, only to have someone else step in and take it away from you. You tried to argue your way out of this, and that didn’t get the job done. You got mad and flew off the handle, but that didn’t work either. So, you tried to sweet talk your way out of it, and you still found the door to the way out barred. [Feel free to add anything you can think of.] Finally, finally, you made room for Me to help you.
“You silly child, haven’t you learned yet that by yourself, you can’t succeed? I am in control of everything. Nothing is going to happen unless I let it. Without My guiding hand, you will argue and be angry. Only with your doing My Will will you thrive.
“I want only the best for you – even if the best brings pain and suffering for the day (don’t take “day” literally!). I know that you would love for every day to be smooth sailing. But think about it. When do you grow? When you are cruising along? No. You grow when you are stretched by trials.
“Let Me help you through your journey on earth. I know the many different choices you have to make every day. You do not seem to understand that I am the one who allowed those choices to be in your path.
“I did not do it to confuse you. I did not do it to frustrate you. Some things are just every day trials that help you grow daily. Others may be a real game changer that need to steer you in a direction where you will be happier and My kingdom will be expanded.
“I did it to ensure your dependence on me. Lean on Me, My child. I can light your path and show you which road to take for happiness and health. For remember, I know the future as well as the past.
“And when your journey on earth is done, I will bring you to heaven to live with me. My mansion was built at the beginning of time. My Son, even now as we speak, is preparing your room for you.”
Loving Father. Again, we have let the pressures and worries of this world take our eyes off You. We have tried, once again, to rely on our knowledge and striving to bring us happiness. And once again, we have failed. Lord, we again ask you to bail us out of this situation. We acknowledge that You should have been the first Person to whom we turned. We ask that you help us learn from this situation. And Lord, when You have set us on the right road, remind us of our past difficulties so that we can praise you in good times as well as in the bad times. Lord, we look forward to spending eternity with you. Amen.
What do you think? What do we try to do on our own? What can we do to turn those over to God? Leave me a comment below or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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