{"id":3109,"date":"2026-07-02T13:43:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/?page_id=3109"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:43:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:43:54","slug":"choosing-faith-in-hard-places","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/choosing-faith-in-hard-places\/","title":{"rendered":"CHOOSING FAITH IN HARD PLACES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHOOSING FAITH IN HARD PLACES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 26:1-13<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad was born in 1938<\/strong> in Oklahoma\u2026his life was hard. He was born into adversity. As you may recall, the 1930’s was must known for the Great Depression. It brought on a decade of suffering and financial hardship. But to complicate matters, it coincided with a wide-spread drought, known as the Dust Bowl,<\/strong> that hit the region known as the Great Plains<\/strong> (including the pan handle of Texas upward and westward to the Dakotas). And for the people living in those states…life was hard. Farms dried up, crops withered away, and devastation was vast. The land became so dry that the ground began to blow away. Dust filled the skies and covered everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an attempt to survive, many families (like my dad’s), packed up their belongings and began a long difficult journey westward to California. In those days, California seemed like an oasis and a refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tell you that story, because most of us can relate. Maybe not to a literal drought, but we know what it’s like to stand in a hard place, a dry place, a place that doesn\u2019t look promising in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe for you, it\u2019s a difficult family season, pressure at work, maybe a financial strain, or a health concern. Whatever it is, it doesn\u2019t look fruitful, or hopeful, or like the kind of place where good could grow. And when that happens, it\u2019s normal to look for a way out \u2014 to look for a fresh start, or a place with more resources, and new opportunities\u2026maybe an easier place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, to be clear, sometimes God DOES urge us to move. Sometimes He opens a door before us, or calls us to a new place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But sometimes the answer isn\u2019t a new place. Sometimes its to stay and trust Him through the hard place. Sometimes He just wants us to gain a new perspective. Sometimes what we need is simply the faith to trust God. Because faith is not only believing that God exists. It\u2019s learning to trust Him in the midst of the pain. It\u2019s learning to hear His voice in the midst of chaos. And that\u2019s the story we find in Genesis 26<\/strong>. So if you have your Bible look there with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Genesis 26<\/strong> opens, we\u2019re introduced to a man named Isaac. He\u2019s the son of the great patriarch Abraham. If you know his story, Isaac was the child of promise \u2014 he was the miracle answer to the prayers Abraham and Sarah had prayed. God had called Abraham, blessed him, and promised to give his descendants the land of Canaan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, in <\/strong>Genesis 26:1, we\u2019re told that Canaan was facing a famine. Like the Dust Bowl of the 1930\u2019s, Canaan had turned into a dust bowl. And in his efforts to survive\u2026Isaac considered moving his family to Egypt. Egypt looked practical. Moving away seemed reasonable. But in that moment, God showed up, This is a fascinating story\u2026so, follow along as I read, beginning with verse 2 \u2014 it says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 <\/em><\/strong>The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, \u201cDo not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. <\/em>3 <\/em><\/strong>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. <\/em>4 <\/em><\/strong>I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.\u201d <\/em>6 <\/em><\/strong>So Isaac stayed in Gerar.<\/em> \u2014 <\/em>Genesis 26:2-6 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last line is remarkable to me: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo Isaac stayed in Gerar.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s remarkable because nothing about the famine had changed. The ground was still dry. The pressure was still real. Egypt was still an option. Nothing had changed \u2014 except, God had spoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Isaac chose to trust in Him. And that\u2019s really where faith begins. It doesn\u2019t deny reality. It simply refuses to let the hard places have the final word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So today, I want to talk to you about Choosing<\/strong> Faith In Hard Places<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because all of us will face a hard place at some point in our lives. And if you\u2019ll allow me, I\u2019d like to give you three challenges from Genesis 26<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the first is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. LOOK FOR GOD IN THE HARD PLACE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve already discovered, this chapter opens with a hard place. Isaac, and everyone else were all facing a real famine. That is not a minor detail. It\u2019s a key part of this story. And like Isaac, we too face moments like this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of us, at some point, will have to walk through hard things \u2014 seasons we didn\u2019t expect, burdens we didn\u2019t choose, and difficulties we can\u2019t fix quickly. And when those seasons come, it\u2019s natural to assume something is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Sometimes we think, we\u2019re wrong <\/strong>(that we\u2019ve done something to deserve it). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Sometimes we think God\u2019s wrong<\/strong> (that He\u2019s forgotten us, or overlooked us, or abandoned us). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 And sometimes we think the place is wrong<\/strong> (like maybe we\u2019re out of God\u2019s will, in the wrong place),.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Genesis 26<\/strong> reminds us that difficulty is not always evidence of our sin, or God\u2019s distance. Sometimes we face hard times because of the reality of life\u2026and the fact that we live in a fallen world. And sometimes, we face hard places because God is seeking to grow us, to develop us, and to prove our faith in Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me remind you, Jesus faced hard places too<\/strong>\u2026but not because He was wrong, or He was out of God\u2019s will, but because God had a bigger purpose to use His hard places for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac was the child of promise, living in the land of promise, given by the God of promise \u2014 and yet there was famine in the land. That means the presence of difficulty doesn\u2019t equal the absence of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s an important word for some of us. When life becomes hard, we can misread the moment. We can assume that because the ground is dry, God must be distant; because the season is difficult, God must have forgotten us; or because we\u2019re facing resistance, we must be outside of His care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But God\u2019s presence is not proven by the absence of hardship. God\u2019s presence is proven by His faithfulness in the middle of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Matthew 28:20<\/strong>, we read that Jesus said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 <\/em>Matthew 28:20 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not a promise of an easy life. But it is a promise that we\u2019ll never walk through it alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes a hard place is a test.<\/strong> To prove what we\u2019ve learned along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac had to learn that for himself. He\u2019d inherited a strong testimony from Abraham, but he needed to learn to trust in God for himself. He needed to know firsthand that the God of Abraham was also the God of Isaac. He needed to know that God wasn\u2019t only faithful in his father\u2019s life; but that God would also be faithful in his life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s true for all of us. There comes a moment when our inherited faith must become our personal faith. There comes a moment when the God you\u2019ve heard about has to become the God you trust for yourself. There comes a moment when you have to discover that God isn\u2019t only faithful in somebody else\u2019s story; but He\u2019ll be faithful in yourS as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe that\u2019s where you are today. Maybe you\u2019re in a hard place, a confusing place, or a place that doesn\u2019t look promising. Maybe you\u2019ve been tempted to believe that the difficulty means God isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t confuse a hard place with hopelessness.<\/strong> Don\u2019t assume that dry ground means God is finished with you in that place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the hard places can become holy places <\/strong>\u2014 if you\u2019re willing to trust God. That\u2019s where faith is forged, as you discover God\u2019s faithfulness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you find yourself in the middle of a hard place, maybe the best thing you can do is ask the Lord to help you see Him, in the midst of that place. Maybe pray:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 <\/strong>Lord, help me see You in this dry season; in this hard assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Help me see You when nothing looks promising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because faith (in a hard place), begins when we learn to see God\u2019s presence in the midst of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So before you run from it, ask God to reveal Himself. Because He\u2019s already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, the second challenge is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. LISTEN TO GOD ABOVE THE VOICE OF FEAR.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the famine came, Isaac had a decision to make. The famine he faced raised (at least two) practical questions in his mind: 1) What should he do,<\/strong> and 2) Where should he go?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first thought was to pack up everything and head to Egypt. But, in that moment, God spoke up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 26:2<\/strong> actually says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAnd the Lord appeared to him and said, \u2018Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.\u2019\u201d \u2014 <\/em>Genesis 26:2 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a human perspective, Egypt made a lot of sense. It was connected to the Nile River, which meant it had water, food, and resources \u2014 even when surrounding lands were suffering. So when famine hit, Egypt looked practical and even responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seemed like a good idea. But it wasn\u2019t God\u2019s idea.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, God said, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo not go down to Egypt.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That had to be challenging for Isaac because many years earlier, during another famine, his father Abraham had gone down to Egypt. And it helped. His family found food and provision there. So for Isaac, Egypt wasn\u2019t only practical; it was familiar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Isaac needed more than a familiar<\/strong> pattern. He needed a fresh word from the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What God asked of Abraham (in one season), wasn\u2019t what God asked of Isaac (in another). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Abraham, faith meant going. For Isaac, faith meant staying. The issue wasn\u2019t really about going or staying. The issue was trust and obedience. And Gods idea for Isaac was to stay! And I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019d rather have one GOD idea than a hundred GOOD ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you may be familiar with the words of God found in Isaiah 55:8-9. <\/strong>It\u2019s where God says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8<\/em><\/strong>  \u201cFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,\u201d declares the Lord. <\/em>9<\/em><\/strong> \u201cAs the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wanted Isaac to learn that His way was better. Because, what God could provide for him in Gerar was better than anything Isaac could find for himself in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God was teaching Isaac not to make decisions based on fear, scarcity, or even familiarity. So again, God said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s such a powerful promise. God didn\u2019t simply say, \u201cI will bless you.\u201d <\/em>He said, \u201c<\/em>Stay here<\/em><\/strong>, and I will bless you here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The test wasn\u2019t whether Isaac believed God could bless him somewhere. The test was whether Isaac believed God could bless him RIGHT THERE \u2014 in that land, at that time, in the middle of that famine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s the question for you and me as well: Do you really believe God is able to provide for you right where you are \u2014 in the middle of your difficulty, uncertainty, and hardship? Because there\u2019s always an Egypt somewhere. There\u2019s always an easier option, a quicker solution, or a place that looks more promising than the one we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not every open door is God\u2019s direction. Not every opportunity is God\u2019s will. Not every good idea is a God idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n