Matt Hagee - Success Through Struggle

Welcome to this week’s Sunday conversation. This week, the reading covered the direct descendants of Abraham, primarily Isaac and Jacob, and the sons of Jacob. In this lesson, I want to draw your attention to an important time in the life of Isaac. Isaac is facing a famine. The chapter and verse is actually Genesis 26:1-5, and I’ll read it.

There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, King of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the Lord appeared to him and said, «Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.»

Verse four: «And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed, all of the nations of the earth shall be blessed because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.»

So, in these five verses, we see that Isaac is facing a famine much like the famine that Abraham faced. In Abraham’s situation, he left the land that God had commanded him to dwell in and went to Egypt. When he got to Egypt, because he was afraid that they would kill him for his wife, he said that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. You can read about this in Genesis chapter 20.

Interestingly, six chapters later, we find Isaac in the same challenge that his father faced. In this moment, we see a biblical pattern that I think is important for us to understand here today. Each generation has challenges to face-times of testing, circumstances of trials. Regardless of who you are or who your father is or was, you have to stand on your own two feet. Abraham faced a famine; Isaac faces a famine; you face a struggle. That doesn’t mean that your children will never have to struggle or that you don’t have to struggle with some of the circumstances that you’ve seen others deal with.

What’s important to remember is that the Bible never promises us a life without struggle. What it does promise us is success through struggle if we trust in the Lord. Genesis 26:2 says, «The Lord appeared to Isaac.» Now, I don’t know about you, but how could you ask for more? You’re in a difficult situation, you don’t know what to do, and suddenly God shows up.

Here’s what He says: «Don’t do what you want to do; don’t go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I will show you.» We’re not told exactly why God forbids Isaac to go that direction, but we are told very clearly that he was commanded not to go. Oftentimes, we go past the point of obedience when we want understanding. God doesn’t require us to understand Him; He requires us to obey Him.

People say, «I don’t know why God says to pray.» It really doesn’t matter whether you understand how prayer works; just do it. «I don’t know why God wants us to give.» It doesn’t matter if you understand how God honors that behavior; just do it. Many times, if you think about it, knowing what to do is easy, but having the courage to do it is much harder.

The second that Isaac hears from the Lord, he knows what to do. Then, in the next few verses (3 through 5), God reiterates this promise. He wants Isaac to remember why obedience is going to be the source of blessing. He tells Isaac, as He told Abraham, «I’ll bless you; the nations of the world will be blessed by you; I’ll give you this land; I’ll be with you.»

We see in this moment God’s faithfulness from one generation to the next, but our obedience is how we receive the blessing. It’s always conditional, but the conditions are never in God; the conditions are always in us. In the balance of this chapter, you recognize how Isaac behaves in the circumstance. No, he doesn’t go to Egypt, but he gets right up to the border. He gets as close as he can without breaking the rule.

Have you ever been that kind of person? «Hey, according to the letter of the law, I’ll obey, but I’m not going to do it in spirit.» Sometimes it’s the attitude with which you obey that causes you to be disobedient. You’ve heard the story of the child that was told by their mother to sit down, and the kid looks at Mom and says, «I may have to sit down, but I’m standing up on the inside.»

The attitude toward the things that God directs is as important as your willingness to obey. Remember, the Lord looks at the heart, not at the outside. So in Isaac’s behavior, we recognize that partial obedience is still disobedience. Under the stress of the famine, Isaac moves to an area that’s filled with other clans and other kings. This is something you see in Genesis: Abraham and his descendants are nomadic; they move-they’re a patriarchal system of tribes-and they were until they came out of Egypt. But everywhere they went, they encountered cities, governments, and people groups who had kings.

Now, the thing about a king is he can take what he wants when he wants, like he wants, because he’s the king. This is why Abraham was worried that the king of Egypt was going to kill him for Sarah, and Isaac is worried that King Abimelech is going to kill him for his wife, Rebecca. So what does he do? He does the same thing that Dad did: he tells her to say, «You’re my sister.»

We’ve seen this before, and we recognize that sometimes generational mistakes are things that we have to deal with and break. When Dad went through a hard time, how did he deal with it? When you go through a hard time, how are you going to deal with it? There’s always God’s way and the other way, and my recommendation is to do it God’s way. God told Isaac, «Go to the land I’ll show you, and I’ll bless you.» Isaac went to a land that he felt like-if things got worse-he could move from there to where he wanted to be, and it cost him dearly.

In Genesis 26:12– 22, we read about Isaac doing some very peculiar things. He sows seed in a land where there’s famine. He digs wells in a land where things are going dry. He’s developing when other people are destroying, and what happens? He begins to prosper. Now, why did he prosper? He prospered because God promised him that he would prosper.

In this moment, the Lord appears to him when he returns to Beersheba. Now, Beersheba is part of the land that God gave to Abraham, and when Isaac goes back to where he’s supposed to be, God shows up again. Again, a very interesting point: many times people say, «Well, I haven’t felt the Lord lately; I haven’t seen the Lord lately. We used to have opportunities for me to be in His presence, and I haven’t felt that presence as of late.»

When you go back to the last place you saw Him, chances are He’ll show up again. When you go back to the church service, when you go back to reading your Bible, when you go back to praying, God will be right where you left Him because many times, He didn’t leave us; we walked away from Him. What does God tell Isaac when He shows up in Beersheba again? He repeats the covenant. At the end of chapter 26, He tells him very clearly that «I will bless you, and I will be with you, and I will watch over you.»

He says, «I am the God of your father Abraham.» Verse 24: «Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.» God again tells him, «Trust me, Isaac; I’m going to fulfill the promise that I made.»

Now, here are some of the takeaways: even in times of famine, even in times when things are tight, even in times of stress-stay faithful. We live in a world where we don’t know too much about famine. Sure, we may go through a drought or see environmental things, but we live in a world where, most of the time, the grocery store has more food than you could eat in a year.

But consider the stressful times in your life; consider the moments when things don’t go the way you thought they would. Consider times when resources are not as abundant as you want them to be. What did Isaac do? He sowed seed, he dug wells- he did something rather than just sit around and complain. He stayed faithful, and God showed Himself faithful. So in those seasons, don’t stop being generous; give. Don’t stop praying; don’t just pray for yourself-pray for others. Don’t stop helping and serving; let God see you be the individual who is willing to dig wells and sow seeds when others are not in a crisis. Expose yourself to God’s promises more than you do people’s complaints.

In Genesis 26: 26, Abimelech, the pagan king, comes to Isaac and wants to make a covenant with him. Why? At the beginning of the chapter, he told Isaac to get away from us, and now, at the end of the chapter, he says, «I want you to be with us.» The reason is he sees God’s favor on Isaac’s life. Every seed this guy plants grows; every well this guy digs has water in it.

Now, the thing that’s interesting is that Isaac immediately accepts the covenant with Abimelech. It was easier for Isaac to trust a pagan king than it was for him to fully trust the Lord God. Sometimes we’re not much different. A man of flesh and blood says something, and you believe it; but the Word of God says something, and you question it.

What was the source of Isaac’s blessing? Why did that pagan king Abimelech want to be in an agreement with him? Isaac wasn’t blessed because he was Isaac. Isaac wasn’t blessed because he made a good deal with Abimelech. Isaac was blessed because God’s favor was on his life. Where do your blessings come from? God’s favor-not anything that you’ve done, not anything that someone else has given, but the fact that God’s favor is upon you.

In Genesis 26:12, Isaac sowed, and from his sowing, he reaped in that same year. Here’s what the Bible says: «Then Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him.» Now, I know a little bit about agriculture, and what I can tell you is that if you get a hundredfold harvest, God blessed that year.

The message? Remember where your blessings come from. Isaac had no need to enter into an agreement with Abimelech because Abimelech was not his resource; God was. Now, blessings will often bring jealousy and resentment from the unrighteous. Isaac sowed and he reaped. Isaac dug wells, and in Genesis 26: 15, it says, «Now the Philistines had stopped up the wells and filled them with earth.» When you’re in the desert and you start plugging up somebody’s water, you’re basically telling them, «We want you to die.»

In Genesis 26:18, it says that Isaac dug again the wells which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham. He was resilient, but God was still faithful to bless the work. Sometimes, you have to face a challenge; sometimes, you have to fight a battle that you thought was already won. But if you’re resilient and you don’t give up, what you’ll find is that God is faithful to help you continue to accomplish what He intends for you to do.

Don’t be afraid to solve the problem; don’t be afraid to move forward. Don’t get angry-just go to work. In Ephesians, this is called fighting the good fight of faith. Abraham dug a well; Isaac dug a well. Isaac could have said, «It’s not fair that I have to redig Abraham’s well.» Daddy already dug this well.

Well, let’s look at your life: your mother, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather-they prayed for you. Are you praying for your children or your grandchildren? Don’t get upset that you have to pray the same prayer they prayed. Redig the well. Someone, at some point, was willing to go the extra mile for you. Are you willing to go the extra mile for others?

In Genesis 26, we see the outcome of the covenant that Isaac makes with Abimelech. It says in verse 34, «When Esau was forty years old, he took his wives Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashmath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.» Why did Esau marry those girls? Esau married those girls because Dad entered an agreement with the king of their land. Dad endorsed those people.

Now, he probably never thought in a million years that his son would choose to marry out of that tribe, but when his son did, it was a thorn in his flesh for the rest of his life. Be careful who you associate with because there’s consequences-good and bad-to every relationship. Be mindful of whether or not you are obeying the directives that God gives you and if you’re doing it with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength.

Because God knows. The Bible tells us in Galatians, «He will not be mocked. That which a man sows, he shall also reap.» God is faithful from generation to generation, and what He requires of one, He requires of the other-not our understanding, but our willingness to obey and trust in Him. That’s where the blessing comes from. I pray you’re encouraged by this week’s Sunday conversation. I look forward to searching the rich truths of God’s Word with you next week.