“Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
Genesis 26:27
Isaac’s life was not easy. Growing up, he was the son of a sojourner and a constant stranger. I don’t think he liked the sojourner’s life because the Bible records that when he grew up he settled himself in Beer-lahai-roi. But that wasn’t to be – a famine drove him away from his home. Famines are massively stressful events. When we read about this famine, it unfolds over just one verse, but for Issac it represented weeks, perhaps months of dwindling supplies and dwindling hope for rain and harvest. As circumstances grew more and more bleak, he was forced to uproot his household. Such a circumstance is not easy to endure.
When Isaac came to the place where he could survive the famine he had such fear of the people that he lied about his wife, as his father had, and called her his sister. This ultimately gets him in big trouble with the King – who in the end showed Issac mercy.
Isaac prospered so much while in this foreign land that the people got jealous and begin sabotaging his property by filling his wells with earth. Thus begins a long string of contentions over Isaac’s wells. Interestingly Isaac doesn’t fight for his wells, instead he just keeps moving on from one place to another, digging new wells each time. Again, these events unfold for us in just a few verses – but digging a well is no small effort. And with each new well he dug, the people would contend with him over it or stop it up with earth. Finally, Isaac caught a break and dugs a well that nobody contended for and he could finally settle in Rehoboth.
Just as he is beginning to enjoy his wealth in peace, King Abimelech showed up. I imagine Isaac, upon seeing the King and his entourage approaching, must have thought, “Here we go again – they’re going to fight me over this well too. Might as well pull up the tent pegs now and look for another place to dwell and dig yet another well!” Of course, as it turns out, the King only wanted to acknowledge the Lord’s blessing on Isaac and make oaths of peace with him. But Isaac’s own words of greeting betray the self-pity in his heart. “Why have you come to me since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?” I can just hear the self-pity theme song playing in the background…
“Nobody likes me,
Everybody hates me,
Might as well go eat worms.”
Isaac was greatly blessed, and the King was on his way to bless him even more, but Isaac’s self-pity only saw the downside. Self-pity is like that. It blinds us to all the abundant blessings given to us every day, narrowing our vision so we only see the struggles and difficulties of life. And there are plenty of difficulties for self-pity to lay hold of. Isaac’s trials were hard and real and discouraging. Yet we can see – since we get to read the breadth of his life story over a few short chapters – that his overarching experience was one of tremendous blessing.
Contending for faith in the face of discouragement is an ongoing battle for us all. But self-pity is no ally in this fight. It is a liar and it keeps us from seeing the sovereign hand of God moving all circumstances for us for our good. Self-pity is a thief and it robs our view of the glorious purposes and plans of God in every encounter we face throughout our lives. If we can kill self-pity we will have a more level battlefield in our war of faith against unbelief. Every stopped up well becomes an opportunity to let God lead us to the place of a greater blessing, not an occasion to grumble and complain and hum the self-pity tune.
Save me O God from murmuring or grumbling thereby giving self-pity the upper hand. Keep my eyes on Jesus that I may see and acknowledge your abundant blessing and overwhelming grace. You are so good, and even the trials you allow lead to me into your greater blessing. Praise you Lord. Amen.
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