Author: Christine Wyrtzen

STRIKING WHERE YOU’RE VULNERABLE

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.  The Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham.  Genesis 26:12-15

         Having grown up in a very small town in New York, I can personally attest to the power of generational feuding.  At extended family gatherings, stories were told around our dinner table about certain families; people who did things long before we were born that were still recounted with disgust.  Such tales only bred a bias in our young impressionable minds.

         This incident in Isaac’s life occurs long before King David is born.  The famous story of the Philistines warring against the people of Israel and taunting them to provide a warrior to battle Goliath, has its roots in Isaac’s generation.  The war began here.  Isaac prospered, so much so, that the Philistines were filled with envy.  Envy turns to anger and anger that simmers erupts in aggression.

         Wishing to strategically strike Isaac in a vulnerable place, they targeted his wells.  Without water, his livestock would die.  His wealth would diminish so they filled in all of Abraham’s wells with dirt.

         Hindsight shows me that this is not the end of the story.  The Philistines might have thought that they won on at that day.  No water.  No wealth.  But they didn’t know God.  Their aggression was pathetic against the covenant of God over His people.

         Who is against you today?  Perhaps you are trying to exist in a familial relationship where envy and aggression are acted out as a way of life.  Or maybe you exist in a workplace fraught with private wars. Others struck at your vulnerable place and a blessed existence seems out of reach.  God has not forgotten you.  His covenant love is in tact.  Walk in faithfulness and God will do His part.  He will sustain, make a way where you see none, and prosper you.  A war against God’s child is a personal war against God.  Who can fight God and win?  Look at history and consider Who it is that is on your side!

Someone can threaten to block my water supply, Lord.  But You make rivers in the desert.  You are not passive.  I stand on your Word in Isaiah 42:13  ‘You, the LORD, go out like a mighty man, like a man of war You stir up Your zeal; You cry out, You shout aloud, You show Yourself mighty against Your foes.’  Praise be to the Lord of hosts.  Amen

Journal Question:  Who is your enemy?  What vulnerable places have they attacked?  What has been taken from you?  God is the Restorer.  Find one scripture that speaks of God providing what was stolen from you.  Memorize it today; say it out loud as often as your sagging confidence needs it.

WHEN I AM MY OWN DISAPPOINTMENT

When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.  Jeremiah 8:18

         Disappointing others is crippling enough, but disappointing myself can be devastating.  I wonder if I’ll ever find the way out of sadness and self-hatred.  What seems to complicate it is when I believe my disappointment in myself matches God’s disappointment in me.  No one can convince me otherwise.  But you know how it is.  Feelings can be strong and they are based on truth and based on lies.  How do I tell the difference?  What is the way out of this maze that threatens to hold me captive for a lifetime? Continue reading “When I Am My Own Disappointment” →

WHEN SOMEONE’S SIN PUTS ME IN HARM’S WAY

So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’ ” Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”  Genesis 26:9-10

         Non-Christians sin and put God’s people in danger.  Consider the vast number of believers suffering across our world as you’re reading this.   But the opposite can also be true.  Christians sin and put non-Christians in harm’s way.  Disobedience to God’s law, no matter who commits it, affects everyone in the vicinity.

         Like father ~ like son ~ in this Genesis story.  Abraham was afraid of Abimelech, feared that this pagan king would take Sarah to his harem.  But, it was the pagan King who feared God and spared Sarah.  Isaac, years later, does the same thing.  Fearing for Rebekah, he lies to King Abimelech about her identity and once again, it is the pagan who makes the moral choice.  He knows that Isaac’s sin has put he and his people in a precarious position with God.  Abimelech trembles over the ramifications.

         I can suffer the effects of other’s choices too.  Anyone in authority over me can exert his free will and bring calamity my direction.  Whether the head of a household, the head of a company, or the head of a church, no sin stays isolated to the one who commits it.

         I consider the story of Jonah.  The ‘perfect storm’ came upon the ship that carried Jonah.  The sailors feared for their lives and it dawned on them that someone on the ship might be responsible for bringing their misfortune.  They confronted Jonah, he accepted the responsibility for their peril, and the rest is history.

           Under whose hand are you suffering today?  No wonder we are called to pray for those in authority.  In humility, we are called to speak up when prompted by the Spirit, to give the one in charge the opportunity to see his sin and repent.

         Or, it could be that I am the one who is sinning against God.  I can assume that this is private and only I am affected.  This is one of Satan’s greatest deceptions.  If God would allow me to see into the future, I would understand the extent to which my choices affect the lives of those around me.  It may appear that they are unaware, but even on a subconscious level, they may be forming a new behavioral default because of what I normalized.

Oh, let me learn from history.  It is begging to be my teacher.  Let righteousness be my legacy – even down to the small things.  Amen

Journal Question:  There are so many possible applications from today’s story.  Ask God to personalize this in a language just for you and for your story.  Wait in silence before Him until He reveals it.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

When the men of the place asked him [Isaac] about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.  Genesis 26:7

         Can you believe it?  Isaac repeated the exact same sin as his father, Abraham.  Afraid of the resident king and aware of his wife’s utter beauty, he felt he had to lie and spread the word that his wife was really his sister. Isaac’s plot was identical to his father’s sin.

         Oh, the power of a bloodline.  Joyce Carol Oates, a modern day author, said that “We are linked by blood and blood is memory without language.”  Absolutely true.

         Did Abraham tell Isaac the story of selling Sarah?  I wonder.   If Abraham had revealed the story of his own lie to King Abimelech and how tragic the outcome would have been without God’s intervention, I doubt that Isaac would have been quick to repeat it.

         I am quick to tell my children the family stories I am most proud of but I’m shy to reveal my past mistakes and God’s redemption.  I feel I must protect my reputation at all costs.  How many parents die with 50% of their stories left to be a collection of mysteries?

         But let me give Abraham the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps he did tell Isaac the story, and with great passion.  Isaac could have grown up making a vow under his breath, “I’ll never do what my father did!”  How many young adults breathe these kinds of inner vows in anger?  They spend their lives endeavoring to be UN-like someone in their family.  But, by default, they are just like them and often can’t see it.

         Such a vow made without God in the equation is powerless.  The spiritual pull of a bloodline is a powerful force and I’d be foolish to underestimate it.  Holy legacies are passed down but so are UN-holy ones.  How can I be saved from repeating my parent’s sin?  By acknowledging their sin before God, asking God to forgive them, and trusting God to wipe all effects of their bad choices from me and my children.  Only the resurrection power of God can stand up against entrenched generational bondages and win.  You and I need not be victims of our past in any way.

Is there anything in the lives of my ancestors that I need to walk away from?  Don’t let me make excuses.  Amen

Journal Question:  As you think about your family, even your own behavior, have you ever said… “That’s just the way we are.”  Or, “That’s just the way we do things in our family.”  Name one or two traits that are specific to your family that you’re willing to pray about today.   Is your allegiance to God or to your family?

And the LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands.  So Isaac settled in Gerar.”  Genesis 26:2-3,6

God told Isaac to dwell in the land.  “Dwell” means resident alien.  He is camped out there in ‘Promised Land Territory’ but it’s not his.  Not yet. The promise is right in front of him, right outside the flap of his tent.  How difficult.  He has to live amongst pagans.

Has God called you to dwell in a place where you are the outsider?  Others are clearly in control, and comfortable, and you are spiritually out of sync with the majority.  All you want to do is pack up and move on.  It could be a city where you live, a church that you attend, a job where you work, or even a difficult family situation that appears to be stuck in dysfunction.  You spend your idle time planning your exit, dreaming of it.  For Isaac, it was Egypt.  God said, “Don’t go!  Dwell!”

My family and I were in such a place some years ago.  We lived amongst some who despised us and acted out daily with aggression.  We were in a season of great loss, extremely vulnerable, and each time we voiced the name of the town were we lived, it was bitter on our tongue.  We begged for God to move us.

He didn’t.  His Word to me one morning in prayer came from Psalms.  “Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”  There’s that ‘dwell’ word again.  Our family was to sanctify our home, be faithful to God, and make that little corner a place where God’s glory shone.

God moved us three years later.  (Yes, the three years seemed like an eternity.)  But I do have the gift of hindsight to recognize the treasures in the darkness.  Our faith grew, our spiritual muscles toned, our ability to endure hardship increased, and never did we feel closer to Jesus than when we needed Him so badly.

There were times you said, “Go!” That was hard but it was not as difficult as the day I heard you say, “Dwell.”  I looked to escape but You invited me to live in You.  I’m so glad I did.  Amen

 

        In a few minutes, our wonderful neighbors will walk out of their house to move some distance away into an assisted living facility.  We said our goodbyes last night and acknowledged the struggles that change brings.  They’ve lived here many decades on this beautiful piece of property.  It sits on a river and they’ve been generous to share it with friends and family who wanted to come and camp on their property.  It is not uncommon to see thirty families there over a holiday weekend.

         Old age has overtaken them. Their health has been deteriorating and we’ve been part of a few discussions about the property being too much for them to handle. Though there is relief with leaving it, their hearts are still heavy.

         You and I should struggle with change as well.  Painful changes bring losses that are felt for years and can sometimes threaten to cripple us emotionally.  Phases of our life come and go.  Children grow up and leave for college.  The house is empty like a tomb.  Children get married, leave their childhood bedroom, and never sleep in it again.  Parents die and the roots to a home need to be severed.  Spouses die and the change from married to widowed can seem overwhelming.  Is there comfort?

         I was asking the Lord this morning how I should view the changes in my life.  I’ve seen a good number and there are only more to come.  I pictured each one as an item on a list to check off.   But checking it off in exchange for what?  An eternal home where there is no change!  Each painful marker I pass (and I grieve as I do), I make my way further down the road to that changeless place.  Heaven will not force one difficult adjustment on me.  Once I arrive and settle in, it will dawn on me that I can take a deep breath and relax.  There will be nothing foreboding.

         Until then, I wrap my arms around a Savior who is unchanging.  He walks with me through each phase and promises to bring me safely home.  Check marks are bittersweet for though there are losses, the ultimate destination is in sight.  Right now, I can taste ‘changelessness’ through my relationship with my God who is unchanging.  He is bringing me through every valley on my way home to His presence.

You laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you will remain; You will change them like a robe and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell securely.  Psalm 102:25-28

HOLDING GOD IN CONTEMPT

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.  Genesis 25:34

         Why does it often seem that those who appear to have everything think little of it ~ when those who are without would sell their souls to get it?  The one who has it all can think nothing of his blessings.

         Esau was the firstborn.  He would enjoy a double portion of his father’s inheritance.  He would also be the recipient of God’s promises within the covenant.  Instead of standing in awe of these blessings, he thought nothing of them.  He despised everything that came with being the firstborn, including God’s promises for the future.  His cavalier attitude was on full display the day he come in from hunting, smelled Jacob’s stew, and offered to give Jacob his birthright for a portion of the stew.  An even trade?  Not even close.  But the absurdity of the exchange reveals how much he held his birthright in contempt.

         I can read the story, think about Esau’s choice, and mutter “How foolish!”  Yet, holding God in contempt for the promises He has made to me is easy to do.  I’ve done it.  I read a promise and, in a bad moment, shake my head and turn the other way.  “Yeah right, like God is really going to do that for me!”  My contempt causes me to cite the numerous times I feel God didn’t keep His promises. I punished Him by exchanging the benefits of His covenant for the lies of His enemy.

         When it appears that God doesn’t come through for me and, instead, sets the stage for my unbelief, it is time to exercise faith ~ not judgment.  In the dark moments of Jesus life, it could have appeared to Him and everyone close to Him that His Father failed to love, protect, and preserve His life.  Hindsight shows that God had a plan of redemption for His Son and kept every promise to sustain Him.  I cannot judge God by the dark moments of my life either.  That which can cause me to hold God in contempt are the very moments that are shrouded by insufficient spiritual vision.

         You and I are recipients of the same covenant God made with Abraham and all His descendants.  They are staggering because God’s love and favor upon us is staggering.  We should be grabbing each promise and clutching it to our hearts with wonder and humility.  Thanksgiving, not contempt, should mark the demeanor of every blood bought child.

Forgive me for every time I rose up to sift your promises into two piles; those You keep and those You don’t.  Wash away the sin of my unbelief.  Amen

Journal Question:  Name one promise God has made to you that you don’t believe.  Can you admit that you’ve allowed experience to dictate your disappointment, anger, and unbelief?  Let faith repair the breech.  Take a new stand about this one promise and ask God to write the beauty of it on your heart.

CHURNING OVER FAMILY ISSUES

When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.  Genesis 25:24-26

         What Esau had, the privilege of being the firstborn, he cared little about and ended up trading his inheritance for an indulgence in a red meat stew.  What Jacob wanted, he didn’t have, and ended up using deception to gain what was not his.  Each had different cravings.  What they so desperately desired was in the hands of a brother.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  This contrast of interests and personalities is much like Cain and Abel.  That didn’t end well either.

Nothing stirs up our flesh like family rivalry.  The personality and gifts of one child is celebrated in the family more than the uniqueness of another child.  A parent favors one while the other parent favors another.  From birth, affections and privileges can be divided.  It would appear that harmony among the children is doomed from the start.

Some siblings spend their lives at odds.  The tension is never resolved.  Family inheritances only add to further alienate relationships.  Even in old age, the stuff of youth is rehearsed.  A brother or sister is despised all the way to a deathbed.  And let’s face it; all of our past seems like yesterday which keeps the wounds fresh.

What can heal cravings for love, respect, favor, and wealth?  How can life-long prejudices dissolve?  Someone new must arrive on the scene to offer things greater in value than old cravings.  Someone has ~ and His name is Jesus.  Healing for severely fractured families is possible but only as they come together to love and worship Jesus.  As each one’s appetite is transformed by seeing the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ, the stuff that has comprised their arguments seems miniscule.  Every family member can come to realize that what they have been fighting for is a trinket compared to the gifts Jesus offers freely.  And, He is no respecter of persons.

Perhaps you have a life-long angst inside of you regarding other members of your family.  All you have to do is think about a person and your insides are churning.  Being loved by Jesus and becoming emotionally engaged with your spiritual birthright and coming inheritance melts away resentment.  What you seek, you already have in Jesus.  It may be hope deferred, but it is real and it is yours.

 

Open our spiritual eyes to see the value of You and everything You long to give to Your children.  Help us re-orient so that our hands are clutching You instead of things that perish. Amen

Journal Question:  What family unrest still eats at you?  What is so unfair that the hurt eats away at your flesh like a cancer?  What are you trying to extract from another family member that you could abandon for what Jesus offers?  Explore this in prayer and understand that today can be the day you turn a page in your history.

I CAN’T BEAT GOD WITH TIME

The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”   Genesis 25:22-23

   Rebekah is pregnant with twins.  She wouldn’t be the first to feel the angst of a child in her womb.  Much can be revealed there for the bad, but also for the good. One of Rebekah’s children fought with a sibling.  Many years later, Elizabeth’s baby in her womb would erupt for joy when he sensed Jesus in Mary’s womb.  We are naïve to think that we, also, were not affected by life around us while being carried to term.

Rebekah is wise and goes to ask the Lord about this ‘striving’ within her.  God prophesies that this spiritual rub between the children will be historical.  What is small now will involve nations in the future.  One will prevail over the other, one is destined by God to rule.

When God opens His mouth to speak, I can count on the fact that it is already history.  If I don’t like what He has proclaimed, I would be wrong to think that I can set out to change things with great effort.  To say under my breath, “Oh yeah?  Things may be this way now, but just wait!”  How foolish.  Can any man beat God?  Can any think of waging a contest with Him and believe they’ll win?

What God declares has always been true, is true today, and will always be true.  He is unchanging.  This is hard to grasp when I’m surrounded by humans who change their mind all the time.  Most of the things I felt strongly about in my youth, down to my favorite colors, have changed with the years.  But God?  I can’t beat His plans with time and ingenuity.

How did things turn out for the twins?  God’s prophecy prevailed as it always does.  One nation, born from the one God blessed, ruled over the other nation for years to come.  In 2 Samuel, King David (the blessed twin’s line) conquered the Edomites (the 2^nd twin’s line) and they remained under his control for 130 years.  No amount of fighting, whether in the womb, as toddlers, as adolescents, or as grown men, would change what God had decreed to Rebekah on that day.

There are parts of scripture that are easy to like and accept.  But there are others that can cause internal struggle.  Trusting God is a choice when I stumble over one of His ways.  I can think it ought to be different and then set out to prove it, only to reach utter futility.  God’s Word always prevails.

I learned the hard way that I am not exempt from what You have blessed and cursed.  Your Words rule over my life, but rule with power and love.  I’m so glad I stopped fighting.  Amen

Journal Question:  What fight do you need to give up today?  What war with God have you waged and how is that affecting your life, and affecting your heart?  Are you ready to believe that you will see futility ahead and consider repenting of pride and rebellion?  Ask God for the humility to learn from history.