At Beersheba, Isaac’s priorities are changed. His encounter with God (Gen 26:24-25) has a lasting impact on him, as he responds by building an altar there and calling on God’s name. Previously, he has stayed wherever he dug a well, found sufficient water and was not opposed. Now, he meets with God first and foremost, worships Him and then pitches his tent and digs a well. Isaac’s priorities have been rearranged; he’s learning to do what Jesus told us all to do: ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.’ (Matt 6:33)

Having spiritual priorities is essential if we want to know God’s living water. We can only be filled as we hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness (Matt 5:6). If we have no appetite for God, we will not feast on Him. Ps 36:8 tells us, ‘they feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights.’ God has so much to pour out on His people, but He will not do this unless and until we ask Him. We may not be entering into all that God has for us because we’re waiting for Him to bless us or because we feel we’ve got to get our lives sorted out first. God says it’s the other way around; we have to come first and then receive. In the book of Haggai, God’s people are challenged because they are so busy working on their own houses that they’re neglecting to build God’s house. (Haggai 1:1-11) God said, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’” Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:2-4) Sometimes when God speaks to us, He challenges us to put Him first, to trust Him with our ordinary lives and to let Him deal with all the practical concerns we have. He is well able to provide for us all that we need: Paul reminded the Philippians, ‘my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil 4:19)

When we put God first in our lives, we will find our needs met and God sorting out the problems we couldn’t control (as evidenced by the treaty Isaac made with Abimelek at the end of the chapter.) Re-arranged priorities means handing the reins of our lives over to God.

Isaac discovered that opposition and envy were obstacles to his growth, and even the wells his servants dug which had fresh water did not lead to a trouble-free life: Esek and Sitnah were wells which simply brought fresh disputes with them. (Esek means ‘dispute’ and Sitnah means ‘opposition’.) (Gen 26:17-22) Because of this, however, he moved on to pastures new, and ended up at Beersheba, a place of great spiritual significance for Abraham and a place where God revealed Himself afresh to Isaac.

Somewhat to our surprise, we discover that opposition and even persecution can be God’s way of leading us on. The disciples would probably never have left Jerusalem if it hadn’t been for the persecution which scattered them far and wide. They had heard Jesus say that they were to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). They had heard the Great Commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. (Matt 28:18-20) But it was not until the death of Stephen and they were scattered through persecution throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1) that Christianity became more than a local dispute and actually became a missionary movement. We need to understand that God is leading us, even when it doesn’t feel like it. God is with us, even if we’re facing persecution and opposition. Even when things aren’t going our way and we may feel like God is a million miles away, He is still there, leading us on. Moses declared, ‘In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.’ (Ex 15:13) We too can know that God is guiding us, even if we are having to face disputes and opposition which would seek to wear us down and leave us discouraged. God will never leave us or forsake us, even if life is tough.

We often believe that if there were no opposition in our lives and we could navigate still waters all the time, we would be happier and more successful. I’m not convinced this is the truth. God uses trials and problems to shape us and refine us. What we need to remember is He is always with us, no matter what.

In our series ‘The Wells of Salvation’ we looked at four wells Isaac encountered in Genesis 26:12-33. These were Esek, Sitnah, Rehoboth and Beersheba, and each one can teach us something useful for our own spiritual pilgrimage.

Isaac is seen here flourishing under God’s blessing and encountering envy and opposition as a result. The Philistines were so envious they stopped up many of the wells Abraham had dug. We too can often feel as though the spiritual life and springs of living water Jesus offers us are blocked up, especially when life hits us hard (e.g. by bereavement, betrayal or busyness.)

Bereavement very easily derails us. When we lose a person we love or we lose something precious to us – a job, a relationship, a friendship, a career, a hobby, the ability to do something we could once do with ease – something dies within us too and it can feel like there has been a blockage, something preventing us from getting to the water of life. There is hope in God, but often this loss makes us re-evaluate priorities and we need God to help us through this testing time.

Betrayal leaves us with shattered trust and we often blame God, feeling as though He could (or should) have prevented this. We tend to hide away and isolate ourselves, but have to learn to keep on loving and forgiving. Isaac clearly was hurt by Abimelek’s request for him to move on and found it hard when Abimelek returned to make a treaty with him, but ultimately he was able to let go of the hurt and move forward. God wants us to let go of bitterness and resentment and not seek revenge (see Rom 12:17-21). Forgiveness frees us to access the living water again!

Busyness does not seem as much of a problem as bereavement or betrayal, but actually steals us away from the time we need to spend with God to maintain our spiritual life. Without that access to living water, we quickly become dried up and have no resources with which we can swim against the tide. So often, being busy makes us feel useful and important, but it can easily be a hindrance to our spiritual growth.

Blocked-up wells have to be unblocked in order to allow access to living water again. The enemy (the Philistines) may seek to stop up our wells, but God, by His Holy Spirit, is able to remove these blockages and let the water flow freely again.

There are many TV programmes which look at the topic of restoration (e.g. ‘The Repair Shop‘) and in an age of disposable items (cameras, cutlery, plates etc.), it’s interesting to see the trend for restoration growing. Stephen spoke this morning about the restoration of a pocket watch left to him by his father which was badly damaged – the chain was detached from the watch, the minute hand was missing and the silver of the watch was badly tarnished. Its restoration to its original state was a source of great joy to him.

In Ezekiel 37:1-14, we see an example of God’s restoration of His people. This seemed an impossible situation: Ezekiel is given a vision of a valley of dry bones, skeletons where the bones were crumpled and brittle, but by the power of God, these bones came together and as the breath of God filled them again, life returned to these bones and God, in His glory, performed a miracle of restoration.

God knows all about us and is able to restore us. He is able to add lustre to our lives, bringing a shine to replace the dullness which often tarnishes our lives, repairing all that life has broken and healing all that is sick so that we are put back to our original condition and are able to shine for God. God is in the business of regeneration and reconfiguration; He is able to bring lustre, light and life to situations where all seems hopeless and lost. God is the God of restoration.

It’s so wonderful to be able to report good news about our local community. Today I had the privilege of attending the opening of the Goldthorpe Railway Embankment project, a project that has seen the transformation of the old railway line from an area used almost solely for fly-tipping into a peaceful, beautiful community space where wildlife can flourish.

Situated opposite the Texaco garage on the entrance to Goldthorpe, the project has seen local residents and local groups, spearheaded by the Dearne Area Team, transform this area into a beautiful community space. There’s a butterfly walk, an orchard planted by pupils of Goldthorpe Primary School, a bluebell wood, an ‘Incredible Edible’ garden growing herbs and spices, a flower garden, picnic benches, water feature and bug houses and fairy doors, plus a memorial stone to two boys who died in that area.

Well done to all those who have worked tirelessly to create a beautiful space for local residents to enjoy in the heart of our busy community, a place of tranquillity and repose.

This past week we visited Woburn Safari Park where there is a play area for children. Our older granddaughter loved the park and she demonstrated to us quite clearly how her gymnastics lessons have helped to develop her sense of balance. With arms outstretched to help her keep her balance, she navigated the twists and turns of the wooden beams quite confidently.

Maintaining balance is largely a matter of practice. We understand this when it comes to children learning to walk and ride a bicycle – or navigating the different challenges of a play area – but we don’t always appreciate that as adults, we too have to keep practising if we want to maintain balance. Moreover, we accept that falling and failing will be inevitable when it comes to children, but often a fear of falling and failing paralyses us as adults, and we prefer not to even try because we are afraid if we step out in faith, it will end in crashing failure.

Moving in spiritual realms is risky. We won’t always get it right, but just as the child falls and is picked up by loving parents and encouraged to try again, so too we have a heavenly Father who is longing to pour out His Spirit in our lives. Let’s not be afraid to ask God to use us in the spiritual realm, to give us access to heavenly wisdom, knowledge and power, and let’s step out in boldness. Little children have much to teach us.