When Life Gets Hard: What Do You Do When Nothing Seems to Work?
You followed your dream and ended up broke. So you got practical and ended up miserable. There has to be a third option, right?
Even if you’re not a business owner, you know this feeling. It’s what people go through when a good idea suddenly becomes hard. It could be building a team, raising a family, or just growing up. We all face moments where the things we really want—freedom, security, connection—seem just out of reach.
God doesn't send challenges. Life does. God sends resources to meet them.
Genesis 26: Isaac Faces Trouble and Finds a Way
The story in Genesis 26 is about someone who faced these same kinds of problems. His name is Isaac. He was a son, a father, and a business owner who lived at a time when there was barely enough food or water. The land—a symbol for the dreams and projects we hope to grow—is in the middle of a famine. How will he survive, let alone thrive?
“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines...” (Genesis 26:1 WEB)
When what you’re doing stops working, your first instinct might be to run, move, or give up. Isaac faces that same urge. But something stops him—something deep inside, like the quiet voice that says “Wait, maybe there’s another way.”
“Yahweh appeared to him, and said, ‘Don’t go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about. Stay in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you...’” (Genesis 26:2-3 WEB)
Every Character is Part of You
Your greatest struggles become your deepest strengths.
Isaac in this story is like the part of you that wants to grow and build, especially when times are tough. Abimelech and the Philistines (the people living in the land) are the experiences and doubts that get in your way. The famine? It's that tough season when nothing seems to be enough.
- Isaac = Your inner determination to keep going
- Yahweh (God) = Your own deep awareness – the part of you that still believes more is possible
- Philistines = Obstacles, competition, or old beliefs that try to push you out
Staying in the Hard Place: Why Not Running Away Matters
God tells Isaac to stay put. In real life, this is the moment when you resist the urge to quit and instead decide to really see the opportunity in front of you—even when everything around you feels empty or stuck.
Sometimes, we think the answer is somewhere else: a “magic” new job, a new partner, a whole new place. But often, the growth you want is waiting for you in the hard spot, right where you are, if you stay and listen for a new direction.
“So Isaac lived in Gerar.” (Genesis 26:6 WEB)
If you’ve ever decided to stick with a project when everyone told you to quit—or believed in your dream when even you had doubts—then you’ve lived this out.
Why do you think it’s so hard to stay put when things get tough? Can you remember a time when, by not quitting, you eventually found a way through?
Trouble Means Growth Is Around the Corner
Isaac listens, but that doesn’t mean things get easier right away. In fact, they get more complicated. He is afraid. He feels small. He thinks he has to protect himself with lies.
Life is like a GPS recalculating. Remember when scarcity to spaciousness seemed impossible
Picture Ryan, who was about to quit music when his song finally got picked up by a major label.
“The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, ‘She’s my sister,’ for he was afraid to say, ‘My wife’, lest, he thought, ‘the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah; because she is beautiful to look at.’” (Genesis 26:7 WEB)
Notice how tried to hide something, or pretended to be less than you are, just to stay safe or fit in? Maybe you didn’t speak up about your idea. Maybe you downplayed your skills in front of others.
This is a part of the growth journey. Doubt and fear are natural. But notice what happens next: Isaac’s secret gets discovered, but instead of disaster, he ends up safe. He learns that most of the time, the worst thing you imagine doesn’t actually happen. People may not always be as out to get you as you think.
What If You Stopped Hiding?
Integration Insight: Living from connection rather than just connecting occasionally.
Master-level seeing means visualizing not just what you want, but how it serves the larger good.
Are there places in your life where you’re not speaking your truth? What’s one thing you wish you could say or do, even if you’re afraid of what others might think?
Planting When It Seems Pointless
With his safety clear, Isaac does something that seems foolish: he starts planting crops right in the middle of the famine. When most people would quit or hoard what they have, he sows seeds—with no guarantee that anything will grow.
“Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him. The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.” (Genesis 26:12-13 WEB)
This is the turning point. When you put your energy, time, or love into something—even when you have every reason to doubt—it often leads to results bigger than you expected.
Think about people like Dave Ramsey, who went from bankruptcy to building an entire business teaching others how to steward their money. He started over with a tiny class; over time, that “planting” grew far beyond what he could have predicted. If Ramsey had run away when things got tough, nothing would have change The bigger awareness works through wrestling—not to defeat you, but to integrate all parts of who you are into who you're becoming.d.
- Isaac's action—investing in the vision, not the fear—is the heart of conscious creation.
- The huge return is a picture of what can happen when you pour energy, belief, and action into something during dry seasons, not just the easy times.
- The "blessing" is the natural satisfaction and growth that comes from staying aligned with what matters most, even in tough moments.
When You Succeed, Not Everyone Will Like It
Here’s the twist: once Isaac succeeds, people get jealous. The Philistines fill his wells with dirt. He’s pushed out, again and again. Every time he digs a well—his lifeline, his access to water—the locals fight him for it.
Your imagination isn't making things up. It's picking up what's preparing to be.
“... The Philistines envied him. Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug... the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.” (Genesis 26:14-15 WEB)
Maybe you’ve been there: You get a promotion, and suddenly you’re judged or ignored by old friends. You start a new business, and others copy or block you. This is normal. When your awareness—and your results—expand, not everyone in your outer world (or even your inner thoughts) will like it.
Isaac doesn’t argue, and he doesn’t fight. Instead, he moves and keeps digging new wells, again and again. This shows a powerful principle: when you stay close to what matters, you will always find another way. Awareness and resourcefulness are unlimited, even if a specific opportunity dries up.
Do You Keep Digging, or Give Up?
Advanced experimental faith means trying to live from the bigger awareness more than your limited perspective.
Where in your life have you given up after being shut down only once or twice? What would happen if you simply kept finding new ways—new wells—until something opened up?
Finally: Room to Breathe and Feel at Home
“He moved from there, and dug another well. They didn’t dispute over that one. He called it Rehoboth. He said, ‘For now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.’” (Genesis 26:22 WEB)
After all the struggle, Isaac finds a place where there’s room enough—not just for him, but for everything he’s built and everyone with him. This is the feeling people describe when their dream finally “clicks”—when you find a team that supports you, or a friend group where you belong, or your project gets traction after many failures.
This isn’t magic. It’s the result of
The guidance comes faster now because you've cleared the static of doubt.
- Listening to your own deep awareness of what matters, not just what’s easy
- Declining to fight old battles, and moving forward instead of getting stuck in drama
- Staying faithful to planting and creating, even when it seems pointless
- Refusing to quit, no matter how many times you get pushed out
This is how you gain the “blessing”—the lasting satisfaction and growth you were looking for from the very beginning.
Making It Personal: Living the Expansion like a valley becoming a mountain view
Genesis 26 shows that every challenge is an invitation to expand your awareness—about yourself, your project, your relationships. The famine is not the end; it’s the starting line for something greater. The people who oppose you are part of your inner world, testing your focus and resolve. Every new well you dig is a fresh shot at living the life you imagined, even if the past wells were blocked.
Here are some things you can ask yourself today:
- Is there a part of my life where I’m tempted to run away, instead of staying to see what new possibility might grow?
- Where am I hiding my real intentions or dreams? What’s one truth I could admit, quietly, just to myself?
- Am I willing to plant, create, or try—even when results aren’t guaranteed?
- Who are the “Philistines” in my life—old beliefs, people, or doubts trying to block me? How can I let them be, and still move forward?
Try This: Make Space for Your New Well
If you feel stuck, take one small step that feels “risky” but true to your deeper self:
- Tell someone about a dream you’ve been hiding.
- Start a small version of your big idea, even if it’s just in your own room or online.
- If something you’ve tried is blocked, try a different approach today—in work, friendship, or creativity.
- Remember, if a “well” in your life gets filled in, dig a new one nearby.
Next Up: The Blessing Flows Forward
In the next story, Genesis 27, we’ll see what happens when old blessings and new desires collide—how rivalries (even in families and teams) can put your dreams at risk, and why sometimes, life asks you to go after what you want with even more clarity and courage.
Remember: Even in famine, even when blocked, you can find space to grow. There’s always another well waiting, just below the surface.
Everything responds to the quality of presence you bring to it.
