Too Powerful

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

TOO POWERFUL

Gen 26:16-25

16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.   22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land." 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

NIV

We could focus on the three wells, each with the names Isaac gave them; the Hebrew words mean dispute, opposition, and room. That is the story of three wells. However, we could focus on the LORD's appearance to Isaac, telling him not to be afraid, for He is with him. That is a great life lesson, because we know the Lord is with us; in fact, the Holy Spirit lives within us. Still, the Lord is our shepherd, and he will never leave us, nor forsake us. Shepherds never leave their sheep alone, for the wolves are always looking to devour the sheep. His rod and his staff, they comfort us; he always leads us to still waters and to green pastures, and he has restored our souls. Although the LORD appeared to Isaac, as he did to Abraham, blessing them both about the number of their descendants, both had built altars and called in the name of the LORD. We might consider the front of our churches as altars, such as the prayer railing, or some similar place, but the true altar to the Lord should be in our hearts. Within our hearts is where we worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. Our hearts represent our spirits and minds, for that is where our worship resides; in our spirits, and truth is in our minds. Still, there is this one truth that we may not think about much. Abimelech told Isaac to move away because he had become too powerful. We may not think we have much power, but because the Lord is with us, we are filled with God's power. Because we are so powerful, another enemy wants us to move away from him. Abimelech feared Isaac because he became powerful through the LORD's blessings. IF we are living in the blessings of the Lord, the enemy of our soul may just want us to move away from him. All too often we think that Satan has some power or influence over us, but that is not true. His only power is whatever the Lord allows him. We have the power of God available within us, for he dwells in us, and so we have power over Satan. We have Jesus' authority and can tell him to move away, not because he is too powerful for us, but because we are too powerful for him.  We simply need to resist him, and he will flee from us. That is the power of God at work within us. There is no question as to who is too powerful.