"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." (Genesis 26:22)
Room. Space. Freedom. Territory. My own spot. Breathing space. Resting place. Land. No limit. No restriction. My own house. My dreams.
The preceding is a list of things various people long for. No one loves restriction, containment or tightness. That was the desire in the heart of Isaac in our text today. Isaac had just gone though a difficult situation. Forced by a famine, he moved his family to Gerar and there he met unwelcoming and hostile Philistines clogging every well he dug with rubbish.
Every well He dug, the envious Philistines would contest with him over it and claim it as theirs. They wouldn't come before he dug the well but after exerting time and labor, they would come to take it from him. He dug one well, they took from him and so he called it contention. They took another and he called it enmity. Finally, he moved away and dug another well which they did not contest for. Isaac heaved a sigh of relief and named that well Rehoboth, which means, "wide space" or "broad place." He had located wide enough space to increase as God has promised.
There are some important lessons from this passage:
1. Space is needed for increase. Limited space means limited growth. The increase of your life will conform to the capacity you have to receive. Large space beckons to more increase. Little space stops the miracle of increase like lack of jars caused the oil to cease flowing in the story of the widow and Elisha. It is because of this reason that God says we should expand our tent, strengthen our stakes and stretch out our curtains in Isaiah 54. We need room for increase. Room in our thoughts. Expansion in our minds. Space in our storehouses.
2. The enemy does not want you to have space. Satan wants to contain you. He desires to limit you. He doesn't mind if you serve God as long as it doesn't go beyond you. He will do anything to keep you restricted and alienated. He will contest with you for every territory you choose to possess. He wants to relegate you to a corner.
3. The enemy uses people to keep you contained. They will contest with you. Some will suggest thoughts of limitations to your mind. You will experience multiple hindrances on the way to your place. You will pass by the well of enmity. You will dig contentious wells. These wells tend to drain you rather than refresh you. You will be tempted to quit but don't stay there. Don't quit.
4. Move if you have to get space. Don't dwell on the loss of your current space. Isaac kept moving. That job may not be it. That house may not be it. That relationship may not be it. Keep moving on. Don't camp at the well of strife. Don't stay in the dry places. Rehoboth is ahead.
5. There is a broad place for you. God has made room for you. There is an optimal place where you can flourish. It is a spiritual place. It is a mental place. It is a physical place. It is a geographical place. It is a social place. It is a financial place. It is a place where you can spread your wings as a bird and soar. It is the place where you drink from the well of refreshing. It is a place of no limitation. God created it for you. It is waiting for you, but you have to move there. To move may mean you have to make an adjustment in your mind. It may mean to have to move geographically. Whatever you do, don't stay where you are in limitations. Don't stay in restrictions. Move into the wide space God has created for you.
Decision of the Day
I see that there is a place of expansion and increase that belongs to me. God has made room for me. I will not dwell in the places of contention and containment. I will be persistent. I will find my space and increase in it by God.
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