November 2

Well Managed Success

Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully (Genesis 26:31).

Scripture: Genesis 26:28-33

Song: “Make Me a Blessing”

The British philosopher and historian, Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975), wrote, “Nothing fails like success when you rely on it too much.”

My father-in-law remembered a time when Fuller’s teasel was cultivated and sold to fiber processors who used its spine-covered pod to card wool. One year they held back their deliveries to force processors to pay higher prices. The strategy worked—once. By the next year, however, carding machines made teasels unnecessary.

Because Isaac knew how to be a man of peace, he had been able to work around contentious issues. As a result he became a man of wealth and power. He even secured land and settled down— becoming a planter as well as a manager of livestock.

Then came an opportunity to flex his muscle. The Ammonites acknowledged the hand of the Lord on Isaac’s life and asked for a peace treaty. However, other than to remind them they had “hated him” earlier, Isaac prepared a banquet, showed generous hospitality, made an oath with them, and “they went away peacefully.”

A peace maker, governed by a spirit of holiness in his walk with God, will use blessings from God in ways that give others the opportunity to be at peace. As a general principle, Scripture states, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7, KJV).

Heavenly Father, thank You for successes in our lives. Teach us to use them to show the way of peace to others. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.