Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

He left that place, and dug another well. They didn’t argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
Genesis 26:22 (emphasis added)

Rehoboth means ‘wide places or streets’. Room to move. To wiggle your elbows or swing a cat. This is just what Isaac needed. There was a famine in the land, but instead of travelling out of the region the Lord had told him to stay. He had, but he’d taken a page out of his father’s early playbook and claimed that his wife was his sister. The king of the area saw him “caressing Rebekah, his wife” (Genesis 26:8) after they had been in the area a long time. The king was upset at this, because anyone might have made a play for Rebekah and brought guilt on themselves – while this was a different king than had been around when Abraham came through, perhaps they remembered what happened. Issac wasn’t popular. What made it worse was that Issac planted in that famine and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted (some translations say one hundred fold). In verse 14 of this chapter it says “He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.” So the king asked Issac to leave. To put some distance between them because Issac was so great and mighty.

Issac was a nice guy. Didn’t want any trouble. So he took himself away from the general populace and went to the Valley of Gerar. Abraham had been there at one point and dug wells, but they had been stopped up since his day. Not one to lose an opportunity, Issac ordered his servants to dig them open again. It would be a lot easier than digging new wells from scratch. They dug up a nice fresh one, and the herdsmen of Gerar argued with Issac’s men and claimed it – it was named ‘contention’. Oh well. They dug another, probably farther away. They argued over that one too – it was named ‘hostility’. Oh well. They moved again and dug another well. This one no one argued about, so it was named ‘wide places’. Immediately Issac proclaimed it had that name “For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

What’s interesting is that these names for the wells weren’t new. You would think they were since their names matched the actions around them. But previously in verse 18 when we are told that Issac decided to dig up the wells his father had originally dug, “He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.” Abraham called them contention, hostility, and wide places. Issac seems to me to be walking out his father’s life. Same wells. Same pretend-my-wife-is-my-sister ploy. These are not that positive. This doesn’t seem like a wise plan. Shouldn’t he have expected the trouble? Maybe he did and that’s why they made no trouble and moved to place after place. The only wise thing he did was stick to Abraham’s God. Issac was a dedicated relier on Yahweh.

In fact, the king who had sent him out came and made a treaty with Issac. This is just after they moved to a new location (Beershaba) and started digging a fresh well. Issac heard from the lord (verse 24) and built an altar to Him there. Since he had gotten some peace from the oath treaty, and heard from the Lord who gave him a promise, he called the well ‘oath’ or ‘seven’. Seven is a significant number in Judaism. It symbolised completion. The world was made in seven days. The first verse of the Torah has seven words. The sabbath falls on the seventh day of every week. There are seven major holidays in the Jewish year. The menorah in the Temple had seven branches. There are seven female prophets named in the Old Testament. And it goes on and on. The number seven is woven throughout their lives, traditions, and Torah.

For Issac, this place and this well symbolised the end of things. This is where he spent the last of his days. He WAS fruitful in this land and in these places. He was given respite from the conflicts and stresses of living in the valley. He went through some tough times, but in the end the Lord guided him to peace. Wide places. Rest.

This is the same promise that we have. This is the same hope that we cling to. If we let the Lord shepherd us, we will pass through the turmoil. We will pass through the strife. We will get to a place of rest. His rest that comes from inhabiting His peace, which comes from being obedient to Him. This is not just peace here in the worldly places – because as we get closer and closer to the end of things there will be more and more contention against the followers of Jesus – but an eternal peace. Jesus did not promise us smooth sailing here on earth. He promised us rest as we abide in Him. If we have faith in Jesus, then we will walk in the overcoming victory that Jesus walked in – regardless of the appearance of the circumstances around us. It’s a firm word and a good promise. Jesus has some experience with this. He literally took a nap in the bottom of a boat that was sinking (Matthew 8:23-27).

The first promise from the Lord Issac had in this region was: “Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about. Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Genesis 26:2-5). The second promise (verse 24) was “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.” Between those two promises was a LOT of conflict. A LOT of stress. A lot of issues that didn’t seem pleasant, but turned out okay. There was also a lot of blessing. A lot of victory. A lot of growth. Issac was guided through it all.

“So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as children. And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:3-7). We have been given the gift and the promise of being children of Yahweh Most High. Sons and daughters of the Lord. Through Christ. In Christ. “Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

We have a walk to walk. We’ve been given this promise about who we are. The righteousness of God in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Heirs of this promise. Sons and daughters. But we still walk in this world. This world is where our call is. Where our work is. Where our obedience is. There will be trials (John 16:33). We’re going to have stresses we’ll need to stand in (James 1:12). There will be things we suffer (Romans 5:3-5). But we have that promise that we are children of God. “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him. For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith” (1 John 5:1-4).

The Lord will fight for us (Deuteronomy 20:4). We have the armour of God (Ephesians 6:13). We have access to wisdom and perseverance (James 1:1-5). We have deliverance (Psalm 3:8). We have God for us (Romans 8:31-32). Remember, Jesus – the One who we abide in – has overcome the world (1 John 5:4). We’re not struggling and stressing and trying to wrestle a victory out of the ground with a shovel. We’re walking the path that the Lord Jesus forged. We are stepping into His footprints actively guided by His Spirit and upheld by His servants. It is not US who is doing the work, but Jesus IN US. Where is our strength? What is our might? Jesus. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

We have a GOOD promise from a GOOD Father. He is a GOOD God. He isn’t going to leave you hanging. He isn’t going to leave you alone (Hebrews 13:5). He is there, the Word is there, the Holy Spirit is there, and the Father is watching over us all from His Throne in heaven. Keep walking. In His rest. In His peace. Don’t take strife from the hand of this world. Don’t take worry. Don’t take fear. Don’t identify with that. Identify as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t matter what you feel. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances around you are. It doesn’t matter what the world tells you is happening. We identify as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In HIM we move. In HIM we overcome. In HIM we have rest.

The Word is the light that lights up the path that Jesus walked. In Him, we too can walk it. A path full of rest. Keep your eyes on Him. Not on your past. Not on experiences. Not on feelings. On Jesus. He is the rock on which we stand. The security in the shake up. The nap in the boat. Our living water. Do not fear. Do not give up. He won’t forsake you. Ever.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 55:22

C-3PO has brought smiles to the faces of millions of people across the world. How? Because in the face of danger his plan is to wail a lot, panic, and run around. And that is funny. Because it’s so ridiculous. It’s so stupid. It’s… ummm…. It’s what we do. Something is facing us and we panic. We wail. We run around. But what we should be doing is resting. Is He your provider, or not? Is He the one who sustains you, or not. Is He all you need, or not? We aren’t being asked to do it ourselves. We aren’t being asked to face it alone. We aren’t being asked to do much of anything but walk where He already has to do what He already did. Why fear what is coming toward you? Don’t assume that because last time it didn’t go well this time will also be bad. Open your mind to the idea that the Lord knows what He is doing. That He knows what you need. That He made a plan before you even heard of Him. Trust in His rest. Trust in His peace. Claim it. Grab it. Stand on the Word and embrace it. The Lord is with you wherever you go. He cares for you. He will sustain you. He’s promised that. Be obedient to what He says and the rest will follow. He is with you. He will keep you wherever you go. And He will bring you back again. He has promised.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.