Thursday, January 28, 2010

We're Blessed, So Let's Just Dig Another Well - Apples of Gold - January 28, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 28, 2010

“We’re Blessed, So Let’s Just Dig Another Well”

 

Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

So you had this good-looking married couple, Isaac and Rebekah.

And they had a food problem.  No, it wasn’t Rebekah’s cooking.  It was a famine.

There was a famine in the land, and as the head of the household, it was Isaac’s job to find food for his family.

Well God made it easy for him.  In Genesis 26 we read that “the Lord appeared to Isaac” and told him where to go.

In verse three the Lord said, “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.”

So Isaac went, and when he got there he planted crops.  Now planting crops is always a step of faith.  You are basically taking grain and, instead of eating it, you are sticking it in the ground.

But Isaac had faith because, after all, God Himself said, “I will bless you.”

So Isaac planted crops, and look what it says in Genesis 26:12.  It says that same year he “reaped a hundredfold…”  And then it says why.  It says he “reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.”

Isaac had faith to plant in the first place because he trusted the Lord to bless him – because the Lord had said He would bless him.  Then Isaac reaped a great harvest because, as he expected, the Lord did bless him.

And he lived happily ever after, right?

Well . . . no.

Yes, he had quite a winning streak.  Verse 13 says Isaac became rich and grew very wealthy.

But then his neighbors, the Philistines, turned on him.  They committed the sneaky and cruel act of filling in the water wells.

Then the king of that land told Isaac to move away.  “You have become too powerful,” he said.

So in a way, Isaac’s abundant blessings turned into a curse.  It made his neighbors jealous and the king nervous.

Did Isaac argue or fight back?  Did he make a big scene, or start a war?

No.  He did what they requested.  He moved away.

He ended up in a valley, and his servants went out digging, and – good news! – they discovered fresh water.

Then some of the locals came along and claimed the water for themselves.

Did Isaac fight about it?

No, he just went out and dug another well.

But the locals pitched a fit about that one, too.

And what did Isaac do?

He moved on.  Yes, he could have stayed and fought about it, but you know what?  I think Isaac thought to himself, “I know the Lord is with me.  He said He would bless me.  I’m blessed, so let’s just dig another well.”

And finally, no one bickered with him about this one, so he named it Rehoboth, which means “room,” and he said, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

Now what about you today?  Do you feel like the Philistines have filled in your wells?  Do you see your provision drying up and enemies on the horizon? 

Well don’t fret!  Just say along with Isaac, “I’m blessed, so let’s just dig another well.”

“But Doug,” you say, “I’m not blessed.  You should see my position.  Plus, God said He would bless Isaac.  That doesn’t mean He’ll bless me.”

Okay, look at Romans 10:12.  “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.”

James
1:25 talks about hearing and doing the Word of God.  The man who does that, it says, “he will be blessed in what he does.”

I could go on and on about how the Lord blesses His people.  If you are His, then you are blessed!

We know Isaac was blessed, very blessed, and yet there he stood, more than once, looking at his hard work ruined, looking at once beautiful wells, now filled with dirt.

But he was blessed, and he knew he was blessed.  So he didn’t get all stressed out and start World War III. 

Instead, he just took the attitude that we can all take as God’s people facing difficult circumstances.

We can rise to the occasion.  We can stand in the face of adversity and declare, “Yes, we are blessed, so let’s just dig another well.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for
Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000

-vi-

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