Naming Wells

By Scott Wetzel

“He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, ‘Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.’”  Genesis 26:22 (NIV)

A lot of people think I’m rebellious.  I have permanent skin art.  I love the rock n roll music.  I have a beard.  I go to hockey games just to watch players throw down.  People have an expectation that I’m confrontational. 

I’m not in the least.

I hate confrontation.

Confrontation makes me nervous.

I know a lot of aspects of my personality and outward appearance may lead people to believe that conflict is a part of my nature but the truth be known, I’d rather leave than fight most of the time.  But I’ll also stay where God wants me and a lot of times that creates an atmosphere of hurt, confusion, and frankly, frustration.  So when I get pushed into a corner I generally don’t back down.

So, here is Isaac in the land in which God told him to live.  Everywhere he goes he’s met with conflict.  He digs a well and people start a fight.  He names that well “Esek” which means “dispute”.  He didn’t retreat and he didn’t fight, he just dug another well. The people of that country come out swinging again.  So he names that well “Sitnah”, which means “opposition".  But he knows that God has placed him in this land for a purpose. 

A purpose to flourish.

You can’t flourish without water.

Again, he doesn’t retreat and he doesn’t fight, he just digs another well.  No one argues this time.  This is the exact spot that God wants him.  This is where he will begin his purpose.  He names the well “Rehoboth” which means "room".  Now he’s got the space to grow.

Isaac didn’t leave where God had put him just because he’d been met with arguments.  He didn’t walk away from the plan that God had laid out for him simply because people didn’t understand what it was that he was doing there.  Instead he kept trying.  He’d name that well and say “I’m not going back there right now because my energy is best spent finding the spot God wants me in.”

This happens so much in the church.  We are in a church family and things get uncomfortable.  We have God ideas that other people don’t understand so we walk away from the family trying to seek a land where there is no conflict.  Truth be told, there will always be conflict.  I believe that we get called to other places but I also believe we move away from the spot that God has specifically called us to way more often than we should.  When the going gets tough we let our entitlement attitude kick in and we leave.  Instead, focus on WHY God has you there.  Don’t give up trying, just give up pushing for a well that you can’t have right now. 

Don’t retreat, don’t fight, just dig another well and name it “room”.