BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Was he disappointed? Without a doubt. His natural supply had been cut off! He was being forced to leave his home because of jealous, vindictive people. Yet Isaac did not throw himself to the ground and give up. He didn’t quit. He didn’t stop right there and say, “My life is over. I’m a failure!” Why not? He was a man who was established in his covenant with God. Even in the face of seeming defeat, he still heard God’s words ringing in his heart, “I will be with thee, and will bless thee.” He dug down into that covenant and found the faith to go on. So, “Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there” (verse 17). He said to himself, God gave me these wells, He’ll give me others! He took care of me before and He’ll take care of me again! “And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father.... And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water” (verses 18-19). Instead of sitting down and wailing, “Woe is me!” Isaac picked up his shovel and dug another well! Sure enough, he found water. But the battle wasn’t over yet. Leave Old Wells Behind "And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek [that means “contention”]; because they strove with him. And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah [that means “hatred”]. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land" (verses 20-22). Can you imagine the frustration Isaac must have felt? Over and over, he would dig a well and someone would come and take it away from him. But when they did, the Bible says, “he removed from thence.” He departed. He left the past behind. He completely disregarded it. He kept his eyes on the future. He never looked back. He did what the Apostle Paul tells us to do in Philippians 3:13-14: “...Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before...press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” If you want to finish as a winner, follow Isaac’s example. Don’t ever look back at the wells they’ve covered up. Don’t look back at the hurt that has been caused. Don’t look back at the painful words that have been spoken to you. Look forward. Reach toward the prize of the high calling of God! Pick up your shovel and dig another well! Dig in Love "Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us...that thou wilt do us no hurt.... And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink" (Genesis 26:26-30). Talk about adding insult to injury! It wasn’t enough that these people stopped up Isaac’s wells and shoved him from one place to another. When it was all over, and they saw how blessed he was, they wanted him to make covenant with them! Most people—Christians included—would have told Abimelech and his bunch to take a long hike off a short pier. But not Isaac. He fixed dinner for them! He did exactly what they asked! In other words, he walked in love. And verse 32 tells us that “it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.” When you walk in love, you find what you’re looking for! When you walk in love, you succeed! For as 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Love never fails” ("Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). Sometimes we lose sight of that. Sometimes when people mistreat us, we get so angry we want to explode. But at those times, remember: Love never fails. When you’re operating in the love of God—without strife, without contention, without hatred—you put yourself in the presence of Almighty God. And He can bring you through a famine. He can bring you through opposition. He can bring you through anything, no matter how serious it is, and bring you out on top. Keep Digging! So don’t let those well-pluggers get you down. Don’t sit around crying over the disappointments of the past. Move on with God. Pick up your shovel of faith and dig another well. Dig for the living waters. Dig for the answers you need. Dig for health and healing. Dig! Dig! Dig! Sure, the devil has thrown sand in your wells before—and, no doubt, he’ll do it again. But you’ll whip him in the end if you’ll just keep following God and obeying His voice. Keep walking in love. Keep your heart stayed on God’s covenant promises, and your eyes fixed on the future. If you’ll do those things, in the end, you’ll succeed. Like Isaac, you’ll be so blessed that even your enemies will want to be friends with you. You’ll enjoy such great victory that people will marvel and ask how you achieved it. When they do, you can smile and say, “I just picked up my shovel and dug another well!” V George Pearsons is CEO of Kenneth Copeland Ministries and senior pastor of Eagle Mountain International Church, located on the grounds of KCM. For more information or ministry materials go to emic.org. BVOV : 11

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