Remember Dory from “Finding Nemo?” She may have been the fishy equivalent of an airhead, but she did have a few redeeming qualities. Chief among them had to be her eternal optimism!
One time, when she and Marlin (Nemo’s father) were miles too deep and among all the scary creatures that lurk there—the situation looked pretty grim. But what did Dory suggest they do?
“Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!”
I love it! What an optimist!
In Psalm 105:7-22 (you can read it here) the Psalmist is praising God for his sovereign guidance and miraculous protection of his people throughout the ages. Verses 7-11 remind us (the reader) that God always keeps His promises. Verses 12-15 zoom in and show us how God spiritually leads us, and verses 16-22 encourages us with the truth that even when all looks bleak, God is at the helm!
Verses 12-15 traces the Israelites through their times of wandering and how God prevented wicked nations from harming them. God actually used Israel’s enemies to move His people closer and closer to the place of promise where they would have the greatest impact on the world (i.e., “The Promiseland”). Isn’t that awesome!
Think of it this way…
God’s people always went from nation to nation and place to place.
- Abraham went from Ur of the Chaldeans to Bethel, to Egypt, and back to Bethel.
- Isaac (Abe’s son) went from the valley of Gerar to Esek, to Sitma…
- Jacob went from Cannaan to Egypt
- Joseph from Canaan to Egypt…
And on and on. Let’s take just one of them and zoom in a bit…
Isaac went to the valley of Gerar to try and settle and raise his family. When he arrived there, he dug wells to water his flocks; however, the locals didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet—in fact, they were nothing but unfriendly to Isaac and his family. So Isaac named the well, “Esek” which means, “strife,” and moved he and his family on down the road to try again in a different region. Here, again he dug wells for his flocks…guess what? The people in this region weren’t much better—in fact, worse! So he named that well, “Sitna” which means, “hatred,” since the people were so hostile. He then packed up and kept on walking.
From Sitna, he moved to yet another region and dug yet another well. When no one bothered him there—he stayed. Guess what he named that well?
“Reheboth,” which means, “Room for us.”
I love it!!
How do you know where to jump in with ministry?
Just start digging!
If water doesn’t spring forth, if all you get from your digging is a well of strife and trouble, perhaps the Lord would have you move on down the road and dig somewhere else? Eventually, you will find the place where you will have a fruitful, flowing ministry.
Problem free?
No. You will always have challenges and trials—the enemy never takes a break—or so it seems, but if you listen and watch for fruit—eventually, you will find your Reheboth! As long as you…
Just keep digging, digging, digging…
* special thanks to Jon Courson for his thoughts on this in his “Application Commentary!”