“Then Leah said, ‘God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.’  So she named him Isaachar.”     Genesis 30:18 (NIV)

     Leah’s statement in this verse sounds so familiar.  Not only have I heard myself saying something similar, but I have heard it from many, many people over the years.

     We often think of the circumstances in our lives as rewards and punishments for how well we stay in line with what God wants us to do.  However, that is not necessarily true.  While there are consequences for our actions (both good and bad), our lives are not a direct reflection of our “works.”

Bad things do happen to good people

     When life brings us challenges, we should not consider that a punishment for some behavior that we did not handle properly.  There is absolutely nothing that happens to us that is outside of God’s permission.

     Remember that God allowed Satan to strike Job.  Job 1:8 reads, “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’” (NIV)

     What is so interesting about this verse is that there is no mention of Job doing anything wrong.  So, Job’s attack was not a punishment.

     If God will allow Satan to strike a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil, what would make the rest of us exempt?

Recognize the little things

     God’s blessings don’t always show up like fireworks.  There won’t always be a huge display or celebration to help us identify moments where God has stepped in.  We should still, though, learn to recognize the smaller blessings.

     For example, Satan did have limitations in his attack on Job.  God instructed him in Job 1:12, “…everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (NIV)  God’s hands stayed on Job the whole time.

     If we think about the struggles in our own lives, we can all imagine ways that the problem could have been worse.  Yet, we often fail to recognize that God is still in control and that He will only allow so much.

How will we respond?

     We can all learn from Job’s response.  In Job 1:20, we see that Job fell to the ground in worship.  He recognized God as the source of everything that he had.  He recognized that he was not entitled to anything and could lose it at any moment.  He never blamed God for his losses.

     We, too, should be mindful of developing a sense of entitlement.  While it feels great to be rewarded for our hard work, God doesn’t owe us anything.

     Remember the blind man that Jesus healed in John 9:1-12.  The disciples asked Jesus whose sin caused the man to be born blind.  Jesus’ response was that sin had nothing to do with the blindness.  In John 9:3, Jesus said, “…this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (NIV)

     God also wants to use our lives to display His work.  He wants us to be lights for those who are still trapped in the darkness of this world.  Will we hold fast and praise God through our trials so that others can come to know Him?

“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me?  I served you for Rachel, didn’t I?  Why have you deceived me?’”     Genesis 29:25 (NIV)

     While this clearly appears to be a business transaction gone wrong, another issue was revealed to me as I studied this verse.  Jacob worked hard for Laban for seven years to earn Laban’s daughter Rachel’s hand in marriage.

     Rachel’s older sister, Leah, was still unmarried at the end of Jacob’s seven year commitment.  According to custom, the older daughter must be married first.  So, Laban gave Leah to Jacob to marry.

     Jacob felt deceived by Laban.  He toiled for seven years, anticipating the day Rachel could become his wife.  We can imagine how Jacob felt after working so hard toward a goal, only to be let down in the end.  We have all experienced similar let-downs in our lives.

Buying a home

     Many of us purchased homes in a booming real estate market.  Some of us bought for personal use, while others both rentals for investment purposes.

     How devastating for those of us who have watched the home values plummet well below the purchase price.  So many homeowners are now living in homes with absolutely no equity.  This makes it difficult to sell or refinance.

     In addition, many home loans were designed to be very creative.  While the monthly payments started out low, the interest only periods are coming to an end.  The new payments are often double the previous payment, making it hard for most families to continue to make the payments.  Since there is no equity, many homeowners feel trapped, and foreclosure has been a common last resort.

Layoffs

     Work has been a given for so many of us for so long.  No one really expected their employer to be caught in a position where the budget forced managers to have to choose which employees could stay and which employees would be let go.

     Those decisions impacted more than just the employee.  Families have been hurt by the sudden change in household income.  Some families have had to move to smaller homes or apartments.  Some children have had to leave private schools or even switch to other public schools.  Parents may be sharing a vehicle.

     New jobs have not been easy to find for so many.  Companies just don’t have enough profit to enable them to hire additional help.  The extra-large pool of unemployed applicants also makes it much more competitive.

Retirement accounts

     The stock market volatility has made many retirees and pre-retirees uncomfortable.  Many retirement account balances were cut in half with the recent market downturn.

     This hurt many who have already retired.  They are unsure whether they will be able to comfortably live through the rest of their retirement years with the remaining balances.  Those who were considering retirement in the not-to-distant future had to reconsider and stretch their plans out by several more years.

     Since the economy is still so unsettled, investors have no idea how to handle their accounts in the coming years.  While many prefer to err on the cautious side, there is a concern that being too conservative will prevent the retirement accounts from ever regaining enough to make retirement a comfortable reality.

Who is the deceiver?

     While so many of us are quick to become angry with God when things do not go as we hoped, we should really ask ourselves if God deceived us, or if we deceived ourselves.

     God never promised us that life would be wonderful.  He never promised us that we would not face problems with our homes, our jobs, or our retirement accounts.  Remember Isaiah 55:8.  We tend to forget that our plans and dreams are often different from God’s.

     Yes, our roads in life will be bumpy.  But God has promised never to leave us or forsake us.  Concentrate on John 16:33.  Let’s not lose heart when things get challenging.  We need to depend on God even more in these times.

     Instead of placing misdirected blame, let’s praise God through our storms and praise Him for the victory that lies ahead.

“Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.  The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.”     Genesis 26:12-13 (NIV)

     These verses illustrate the success that Isaac experienced in his work.  Isaac was extremely successful, and we can learn a few lessons about prosperity from Isaac.

Location is important

     If we spend some time on the verses that precede today’s key verses, we can see that the first key to Isaac’s prosperity was his willingness to be obedient.

     Genesis 26:1-6 gives us the background for the situation.  There was a famine in the land, and Isaac had considered relocating.  However, God told him to stay and reminded him of the oath God swore to Abraham.  Isaac chose to be obedient and stay where he was.

     When times get rough for us, do we run to another area that appears to be better than where we are?  Do we seek God’s counsel before moving?

The Lord blessed him – in His time

     As we can see in Genesis 26:12, God blessed Isaac, and He blessed him big.  Isaac reaped a hundredfold in the same year that he planted the crops.  Not a bad return on investment, right?  How wonderful would it be to see the fruits of our own labor come back so bountifully and so quickly?

     However, if we read this chapter of Genesis too fast, we miss something very, very important.  There is an interesting point to notice in Genesis 26:8.  The verse starts out, “When Isaac had been there a long time…”

     Now, we don’t know exactly how long “a long time” is, but this does show us that the blessings of verse 12 did not happen right away.  It may not have even happened in the same year that God told Isaac to stay in the land.  But it did happen.

     Sometimes, we feel that a decision we made was wrong because it didn’t bear the fruit we anticipated right away.  We might question whether we heard God correctly.  But we don’t always know exactly what God has in mind for us along the way.  There are reasons for the delays – and denials – that we experience, whether or not they ever make sense to us.

Where are our priorities?

     Isaac’s obedience showed his trust in God.  Even in the midst of a famine, Isaac put his family into God’s hands.  He loved God enough to put Him before everything else.  He sought God, rather than earthly fulfillment.

     Can we do that, too?  Can we choose to seek God first and allow Him to take care of the rest?

     Solomon wrote about the awesome rewards available to those who seek God first.  Proverbs 8:17-21 reads, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.  With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.  My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.  I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.” (NIV)

     There is nothing on this earth that we can chase that will ever be better than what God has to offer.  And He has promised to be there for those who are looking for Him.

     Genesis 26:13 continues by telling us that Isaac’s wealth continued to grow.  As we continue to seek God, He will continue to bless us.  We have to remember the true source of all that we have.

     “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.  In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.”  1 Chronicles 29:12 (NIV)

“Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.  For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.”     Genesis 26:3 (NIV)

     Stories that I’ve been told about lifestyles in other countries lead me to believe that we Americans have a problem that is all our own.  Since I can’t call it human nature, I will call it American nature.

     It can go hand in hand with our need for instant gratification.  It can also pair up well with our need to control or fix everything.  In general, I’m talking about our problem with being impatient.

     When we find ourselves in a situation that is a bit uncomfortable, we try our hardest to get out of it.  Sometimes, we move so quickly that we realize (too late) that the new situation is even worse than the one we just left.  We just didn’t take the time to carefully evaluate the consequences.

     Our key verse today gives us a few reminders about a better way to deal with our impatience.

Sometimes we have to wait

     Genesis 26:3 tells us to “stay in this land for a while.”  Even when we are not happy with where we are in life, there are times when it is better to stay still.  We don’t know what God has in store for us, and we may never find out if we move too quickly.

     We may not be extremely excited with our work environment.  But, we do have a source of income.  We may think we need a bigger house.  But, our family is safe and warm.  We may think we need a better car.  But, we have reliable means of transportation.  Have we really taken the time to appreciate the things we do have – the things that are truly considered luxuries in many other countries?

God is always with us

     Everything that we endure has been allowed by God.  He is always aware of our circumstances.  God also reminds us in Genesis 26:3 that He will be with us.  How quickly we forget when things take a turn for the worse that we can’t get away from God.

     When we run into a financial challenge that appears to be beyond us, we often try to fix it anyway.  It may be better if we chose to stay still.  Exodus 14:14 tells us, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (NIV)

     Do we give God a chance to help us work through our problems, or do we only turn to Him after we make a bigger mess?

     Granted, we may feel that we have been taken advantage of at work.  We may feel that the creditors are not working with us.  We may feel that we can just never get ahead because someone is always trying to hold us back.

     David shares his thoughts on being still in Psalm 37:7.  He writes, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” (NIV)

God will bless us

     We don’t need to stress over the problems that other people try to bring our way.  The third reminder in Genesis 26:3 is that God will bless us and confirm the oath He swore to Abraham.  We are the descendants of an awesome promise.  If we keep our eyes focused on God and not on our problems, He will direct us through those challenges and toward our promise.

     The last couple of years have been very challenging.  The housing industry fell apart.  Credit and lending practices have tightened.  Companies are laying off workers in an effort to stay profitable as consumers reduce their spending.  The economy is experiencing many hurdles, and the media is debating whether or not we are on our way out of the recession.

     As Christians, we are faced with the dilemma of tithing.  I know what you’re thinking.  Granted, for many of us, this has been second nature for years.  However, when things in the world get tough, even the faithful tithers may find themselves hesitating as bills begin to pile up.

     This blog is meant to provide some words of encouragement and useful reminders.  I have been helping some families deal with these issues since the country’s financial crisis first started, and I realize how many other families are still hurting right now.

Don’t forget who is in control

     The key point to remember during these tough times is that, regardless of how things look, and regardless of how we all feel, God is still in control.  Sure, our finances may be out of whack.  But God has us right where He wants us.  Psalm 135:6 reads, “The Lord does whatever pleases Him.” (NIV)

     It is hard to imagine that God is pleased with what is going on right now.  But, is it safe to say that the road we’ve been on may not be the road that God wanted us to be on?  Is it possible that where we are now is better than where we were headed?

     We all know the story of Joseph.  In Genesis, we read about Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery.  Sure, it was tough on Joseph being away from the love of his family.  Joseph’s father was also pretty devastated, thinking that his son was killed.  But if that had not happened, Joseph would not have been in position to lead Egypt in preparing for the upcoming famine.

     God took a devastating situation and turned it into something good.  Paul reminds us of that in Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” (NIV)  In the same manner, God will turn our devastation into something good.

Just be faithful

     As stewards, our responsibility is to be faithful with the things God has entrusted to us.  If we still have an income, we should pray for God’s guidance to know how we are to handle those resources.

     It is possible that the income is not enough to cover all of the expenses.  However, we should not try to put ourselves in the driver’s seat to figure out how to handle all of it.  God told us in Isaiah 55:8 that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.” (NIV)

     That means that we cannot run to our credit cards or other similar resources in an effort to solve the problem.  These are only temporary fixes, and they will not get to the root of God’s concern.

     We all must keep Psalm 34:10 in mind.  “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” (NIV)  The shake-up in the economy is a wake-up call from God.  We all should seek Him and allow Him to get back in the driver’s seat of our lives – not only financially, but in all areas of our lives.

     Times are tough, but God is right here with us, in the middle of this chaos.  The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert, wandering aimlessly and not realizing that the promised land was right around the corner.

     We don’t have to be in this desert for 40 years.  If we fix our eyes on God and work on doing things according to His will, His mercy and grace will deliver us in no time.