The world is a fickle lover. It will push you to the pinnacle of success, and then push you over to make room for someone else.
Isaac seems like a peaceful, verdant valley between the thunderous heights of Abraham and Jacob. It’s true he has his challenging times, but his life generally is marked by blessing. Here are three remarkable sentences giving a recap: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants” (Gen 26:12-14). Imagine if your life was described that way: “began to prosper,…continued prospering…very prosperous.” But this isn’t Paradise, and the paragraph concludes: “So the Philistines envied him.” It seems the people of Gerar couldn’t live with him, and couldn’t live without him. First their king said, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we” (v 16). Then when he did, moving to Beersheba, they hurried after him. “Why have you come to me,” Isaac inquired, “since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” (v 27). They said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us,…that you will do us no harm’” (vv 28-29). Joseph, David, Daniel, Paul—the list is long and storied. Loved one minute, hated the next. So like our Lord. The same crowd cries, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!” then “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!…We have no king but Caesar!” (Jn 12:13; 19:15). Here is the testimony of God’s servants: “by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live” (2 Cor 6:8-9). It’s a fickle world—but we trust in a faithful God!