From Strength to Strength...The Days of the Years

Hi Friends, 

In our last two blogs we’ve focused on the life of Isaac…his days, his decisions, his destiny.  Each of these unfolded one day at a time as is clearly spoken of his father, Abraham:

“And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived,…”  Genesis 25:7 KJV

What about you?  Likewise, your decisions…your destiny will unfold affecting the generations coming after you.  In our breakneck culture, how are you spending the days of your years?  Are you keeping pace with the busyness or are you slipping into the chaos of frenzy and hurriedness?  There are distinct differences.

Busyness                                                                     Hurriedness
Outward condition of life                                               Inner condition of the soul
Physically demanding                                                   Spiritually draining          
Reminds me I need God                                               Causes me to be unavailable to God
 

Jesus was always busy but never hurried:  “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place and there prayed.”  Mark 1:35 KJV

Start there.  Don’t let the busyness of your life migrate to hurriedness by squeezing God out.   Click here to take a look at our new incentive for greater wholeness and deeper peace. Begin by seizing your time! 

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Remember Isaac.

From Strength to Strength...Isaac...from Clarity to Blindness

 From a place of open spaces and clear sight…..to bitterness and the inability to see…

What happened?

Dear Reader,

In last month’s blog we observed Isaac, son of Abraham, settling in Gerar…sowing seed, cultivating land and living “life” around the well of “open spaces.”  We took note of his slow and steady activity, reaping a hundred-fold in one year.  We pondered what that could mean for us and our year ahead.
Now in this blog we will see Isaac migrating approximately twenty-five miles south to a place called Beersheba:

“And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, ‘I am the God of Abraham your father.  Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.  So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there.  And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.”  Genesis 26:23-25

We don’t know how much time had passed, but it appears in Beersheba worship was still a priority for him.  We also see with the pitching of his tent, that he had decided to settle there.  For Isaac, the spaces don’t seem to be quite so open however.  Verses 26-31 reveal negotiations with warring tribes in that area and ultimately, the signing of a covenant of peace…politically and militarily.
 
“In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths.  And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.”  Genesis 26:31

So time was passing.  The days seem to have been full.  God had told him not to fear.  God had promised to bless him and multiply his offspring.
      
Yet, incredibly, only three verses later the Scripture reveals that his one son’s intermarriage with a woman from one of these tribes…“made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.”
  
What happened?
 
What happened to the man who, as a lad had demonstrated clear vision and a priority of seeking God’s choice for his life? 

”And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening.  And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.  And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel…” Genesis 24:63-65

Yet…“When Isaac was old…his eyes were dim so that he could not see…”  Genesis 27:1

How did he become a man of years experiencing bitterness and loss of vision?      

How did this happen?  When did it happen?

Dear Readers, as you spend more time immersed in this character study, perhaps you could consider:

Where are you in your life right now? 

Where are you digging your wells?  Where are you pitching your tents?  What are your priorities?

When are you taking time to walk in the field, to meditate, to seek His choices?

How are you spending God’s “hundred-fold” resources?

How are you spending God’s time?

And what about the year still ahead?  Are you still in Gerar, or are you heading toward Beersheba?
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Which is better?  Which is best? 

Dear Reader,
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2018 is still young.  Take time to listen and hear what Jesus says.  Follow Him. 

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26

From Strength to Strength...Where Are Your Open Spaces?

 “I will walk freely in an open place because I seek your precepts.”  Psalm 119:45

Greetings Dear Readers!
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It’s hard to believe we’re almost midway through February, 2018.  For me, January of this year has seemed oddly set apart with wide expanses of precious time spent with the Lord.  Some were ministry related, which included helping to facilitate a “Come to the Quiet Retreat” and a second Spiritual Direction weekend.  Some others were weather related, caused by harsh winter cancellations and delays.  In an odd way, the first weeks of 2018 have “presented” as a type of wide threshold…into the open space of the year ahead.
   
In light of all this, I’ve spent much time pondering a passage in Genesis 26 that had also impacted one of my daughters.  It’s all about Abraham’s son, Isaac and a very significant time of his life.   For the purposes of this blog, however, I’d like to focus, and point you in the direction of verses 12-33.  In particular:

“So Isaac left there, camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.  Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died.”  Genesis 26:17-18

Because of God’s tremendous blessing it had been necessary for Isaac to move his whole entourage to this area called Gerar, and dig for water to sustain his camps.   Each of those wells has a story and several have names that reveal the story lines. Take some time, dear readers, to also camp out in Gerar for your devotions. Perhaps the Lord will speak to you as He has to me.

Notice though – and here’s the important part – all of this takes place while: “Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundred times what was sown.  The Lord blessed him…”  (verse 12)
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Sowing seed and digging wells represent slow, but steady activity.  In the weeks ahead we’re going to be talking more about what that means in your spiritual life.  Meanwhile, spend some time at Gerar.  We really still are at the threshold of 2018.  Truly in this year, you could reap a hundred times what you are sowing. 

“He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it.  He named it Open Spaces and said, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.’”  
Genesis 26:22.