Have you been working really hard, but it feels like everything you try can’t catch a break? Have you been holding on, but it seems like you can’t hold on any longer?

Do you feel like you’re ready to take off and soar, but as you get ready for take-off, something, there’s always something, comes up and clips your wings and keeps you grounded? In today’s post, I want to encourage you not to quit. I’m going to share one of the stories in the Bible that helps me hold on when things get tough.

In fact, I didn’t feel like making this today. I didn’t want to. It’s been a long week.

Pushing Through Difficulties

I’m tired, and I felt like pushing it to tomorrow. Things have been working against me all week. People let me down, other stuff was trying to throw me off my game. And as time was going today, I’m saying to myself,

“Israel, it’s ok to push it to tomorrow, you deserve it. You’ve done a lot this week, and things keep trying to hold you back.”

But as the day went on, a passage kept coming to mind. It’s a passage I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. A passage that will give you power in times like this, when you feel life is piling up and doesn’t look like it’s stopping.

The Story of Isaac: Genesis 26:17-33

I’m going to read from Genesis 26. This is such a fascinating story about how life is unfair at times, but God’s children always win in the end. We’re winners.

At this point in the chapter, Isaac is extremely wealthy. He sowed and reaped 100 fold in one year. He’s got loads of wealth, loads of staff, loads of everything. This is going to be vital for you to understand what happens in the end, so don’t forget.

Isaac has all this wealth because God has blessed him in a great way. But he’s told to leave where he lives because the people are jealous of him, so he leaves.

Starting at verse 17, I’m going to take you through the chapter.

The Journey Begins: Moving to the Valley of Gerar

Verse 17 says,

“And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.”

Isaac left. He was living in the heart of Philistine country and began to move away from them.

Then it says,

“And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.”

The well in ancient times was crucial to survival. One of the things they did to Isaac was try to cut off his supply of water, because that would weaken him. He got pushed out of town, his wells got closed.

Their jealousy was trying to keep him down.

But notice what it says next, as things were looking bad,

“And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.”

He held on and kept moving forward, because he knew there was good around the corner.

There is good around the corner waiting for you. Expect it, act like it, and take joy in it.

Finding Strength in Adversity

It was because I switched my thinking. I switched from all the bad things that happened this week, to the joy I’d feel helping you with this article. That was what changed things. That’s why even in the moment of stress and hardship, Isaac could leave, look for a well, and find one.

It’s the same reason what happens next didn’t make Isaac give up. It says next,

“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; because they strove with him.”

Hey Isaac, that new well you found, it’s ours.

How demoralizing would it be to have your wells closed up, and then you find another well, and they steal it from you? Something you’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into.

The place that should be a place of joy, a place of new beginnings, has turned into a place of negativity. Isaac is right to call it Esek which means fighting and contention. But Isaac doesn’t stop, he doesn’t give up, he keeps moving forward.

Moving Forward Despite Opposition

Look at the next verse,

“And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.”

Are you serious? They told him to move out of town where things were great. He leaves without fighting. He then finds a well after his other wells he inherited got stolen, and they steal this one too.

He left without a fight, and they come and fight with him in the first place he settles. There are people fighting against you because they don’t want you to drink from the well. They don’t want you to have life.

There is a system actively taking you nowhere. And unless you are aware, you’re not going to behave like Isaac. When fighting starts, you are going to crumble, give up, and let the enemy win.

We are winners. The enemy wants you to quit because that’s how you give up your victory. But all you must do to win is keep going. So Isaac moves again, and they steal this one too.

This time, he doesn’t call it Esek. He calls the place of this well Sitnah. Sitnah means enmity. It means opposition.

The moment you become aware of your opponent, it doesn’t make it easy, but it makes it easier.

Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. So that prepares you.

Anything significant you’re doing is a target for the enemy. Don’t be surprised when fighting and enmity show up along the way. But don’t surrender. You’ve already won. Keep moving forward like Isaac.

Rehoboth: A Place of Spaciousness

Then it says,

“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.”

Isaac was moving from place to place, and from the outside, it looked like he couldn’t catch a break. Something kept coming up to clip his wings, but he kept doing the things that prepared him for flight. And this time, he finds another well.

There’s no Esek or Sitnah. He called the name of this place Rehoboth. Now the Lord has made room for us, and I’m about to produce fruit.

Imagine if Isaac gave up in the beginning. He wouldn’t have found a new well.

Then imagine if he stopped after they robbed the well he named Esek. He wouldn’t have found the next well. And imagine if he stopped after they robbed the well he named Sitnah. He would have missed out on this new well he called Rehoboth.

And he would have missed out on so much more.

All the fruit God desired him to produce would never get received.

Rehoboth means spaciousness, lots of room. But to get there, Isaac endured much fighting, much opposition. Because he’s a winner.

We are winners. And that means we know fighting and opposition cannot keep us from what God has laid out for us.

God’s blessing, God’s victory outlasts and defeats all opposition to it. Keep moving forward. Click To Tweet

God’s Assurance: Fear Not

But that’s not all. Listen to what happens next.

“And he went up from thence to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

The same night.

Notice how fast everything became clear once Isaac was in the right place. As you keep moving, as you keep holding on, things will get clearer, as your enemies fall around you. The same night God strengthened him and told him, “fear not.”

You don’t need to fear anything or anyone when you’re with God. This is why God keeps reminding us all the way throughout the Bible.

Don’t be afraid.

Verse 25 says,

“And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.”

Never forget to honour God when he delivers you from trouble. Isaac worshipped God.

Enemies Turned Allies

But notice now what happens next. The Philistines were trying to stop him and wipe him out, but now it says,

“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?”

The same people that drove him away were now back. And Isaac is right to say in simple terms,

“What are you doing here? You’ve been fighting against me this whole time, but now you’re here to see me?”

Because when people fighting you cannot stop you, then they want protection 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, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee.”

A covenant was an oath binding by death. Both parties would give their word to keep peace. They didn’t want an oath of peace when they drove him out. But now they want a peace treaty because no matter what they do, God’s people keep growing.

The Christians kept growing, despite persecution. The Israelites in Egypt kept growing, despite persecution from the Egyptians. The Philistines had to acknowledge that God was at work. But that came when they saw the faithfulness of Isaac.

Faith and Victory: The Well of the Oath

Keep the faith and hold on when things keep trying to hold you down. That is one way you will represent God in your life. Look at the words of the covenant they want,

“That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.”

We stopped you from growing in our land and made you start again somewhere else, but we didn’t hurt you.

From the beginning, Isaac was not focused on them. He let God fight his battles, and he kept moving forward to the place God desired him to be.

“And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.”

It was a custom to share a meal when making a covenant, so they eat together and went their separate ways.

And like it said God visited Isaac the same night earlier, look at this,

“And 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.”

Never Give Up

What God has in store for you, no one can keep away from you, if you keep moving forward towards it. The system knows how close you are, and is dying for you to give up as you encounter fighting along the way.

But you’re a winner. We win and don’t give up.

“And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.”

He called it Shebah, and Beersheba means the well of the oath. I said to remember Isaac was wealthy earlier because it’s vital to understanding what’s going on here.

Isaac had physical wealth, but much more spiritual wealth. He had a wealthy mindset, and he acted like it.

Wealthy people understand it’s only a matter of time before they take off. If you keep doing the right things, nothing will stop you. It’s only a matter of time. Click To Tweet

That’s why you’re reading this post today, and not some other day. Because I told myself the right stories, and the right results showed up.

Stories like I shared today are so important on your journey to impact the masses. That’s why you should read my next post about the stories you’re telling yourself.

Go Win and God Bless.

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