Genesis 26:18-22
Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them. But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “ At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
God uses conflict in our lives to move us to the place He wants us to be. God moves in our lives and moves our lives to accomplish His purpose and His will. We have just read the story, in this section, about how God moved Isaac's future wife, Rebekah, to the exact place, to say and do the exact thing, so that the servant of Abraham knew that she would be the ONE for Isaac. There are not accidents in our lives that God does not direct. The above story seems out of place for what we are reading. The book of Genesis is about the birth of the nation Israel. But, it is also to teach us about God and His work in the lives of His people. In the above text, Isaac is in conflict with the Philistine King of the land, Abimelech. Isaac's flocks and herds had grown so vast that there was not room for him and the Philistines made the situation worse by filling the wells he needed to water the flocks, with dirt. Rather than go to war, Isaac was willing to move. He overlooked the matter and moved his family. As we read in the above text, Isaac did this repeatedly. The conflicts were moving him closer to where God wanted him. In fact, when he reaches the last place, here is what we are told:
Genesis 26:23-24
Then he went up from there to Beersheba. The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,
“I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”
The truth is, God uses conflict in our lives to move us to where He wants so that He can bless us in that place. Suppose Isaac would have fought the men of Gerar after he moved once. He might have taken the stand, "enough is enough ... I have had it ... I'm putting my foot down." Yet, he didn't. Isaac we sensitive to what Paul tells us in Romans 12:18, which states: As much as possible, as it depends on you, live at peace with all men. Isaac was willing to give up what he rightfully owned to live at peace in a place, albeit it wouldn't be the first place he landed. God used conflict in Paul and Barnabas' life to even cause a separation of the missionary partnership, only to allow Barnabas to work with Mark and, eventually, Paul to work with Timothy and Titus (Acts 15:36-41). God uses conflict to accomplish His purposes!! Don't run from the conflict. Look into it and find a way to obey Scripture in the middle of it. When that happens, God will use it to get you to a place He can bless you beyond your dreams.
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