Dig Another Well
Genesis 26
Isaac flourishes in the time of famine. Despite circumstances, Isaac operated under God’s provision and covenant. Isaac prospered because God kept his word to him.
There are always cycles and seasons in life
- Genesis 26:1; there was famine in the land
- There are always cycles of up and down; summers and winters
- Don’t get defined by the cycle of your current season
- One season doesn’t define your whole life unless you let it
- Don’t let your mentality about life just be defined by the season you’re in right now
- Let your expectation of life be defined by God’s never-changing word
- Isaac learned some things from his father, Abraham, but now is learning on a different scale
- Something happens in your soul when you yourself have to wrestle with the promises of God in the face of famine
God’s covenant triumphs over circumstances
- Genesis 26:2-5; you might think you need a new location but wants to teach a new covenant
- Sojourn: temporarily staying; we are all sojourners on this planet
- We live here but are not of “here”
- God reminds Isaac of the covenant he made with Abraham
- God is a God of covenant; that’s how he relates to us
- Circumstances changed but God stays the same; his covenant stays the same
- Genesis 12:1-3; the Abrahamic covenant says “I will make you great, I will bless you so you can be a blessing”
- We are all partakers of that same covenant (Galatians 3:13-14)
- God reminds us of his covenant: His covenant triumphs your current circumstances
We are in the world’s economy but not of the world’s economy
- Genesis 26:12-14; God prospered Isaac where he was in that land
- Isaac stayed rooted in something bigger than himself
- You can live in one economy yet be resourced by another economy
- Isaac sowed and God gave him increase; God brought blessing to him
- The law that governs the kingdom of God’s economy is sowing and reaping, tithe and offering, giving and receiving
- Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
- The measure of our sowing creates the measure of our lives (2 Corinthians 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:10, Galatians 6:7)
- Don’t let famine keep you from giving; in the same year of everyone else’s famine, Isaac experienced 100 fold increase
Facilitating Discussion
- What promises within God’s covenant do you need to cling to during this season of your life?
- How can Isaac’s story encourage you to trust God with the covenant he has made with us?