How to be successful at work

Reading Gen 24 and a simple thought hit me: When Abraham called to his servant, the man in charge, and had him take an oath to find his son Isaac a wife, the servant didn’t feel entitled. Abraham put more responsibility on this man in charge of his household who was also his oldest servant. He called the servant in and gave him specific instructions on how he wanted the task of finding Isaac’s wife. He made him promise that he’d get the job done. Other than the servant asking a couple of questions, the servant didn’t complain about the job. The servant did what Abraham told him, put his hand under the thigh of his master and swore to follow Abraham’s “INSTRUCTIONS” (Gen 24:9 NLT).

A lot of times our employers may give us tasks that we don’t understand why we have to do them. We don’t understand why there is a particular way to processing the task. So what do we do? We fight, we grumble, we speak negatively about it, we began searching for another job. Abraham’s servant didn’t do any of these things. He listened to the instructions AND then asked a question. He actually proposed another possible solution and when Abraham said no to it, the servant didn’t get bent out of shape. Hmmmm, interesting thought time. The servant took the rejection of his idea and knew it wasn’t rejection of HIM as a person.

As I allow my spiritual mind to wander, I bet that the servant still felt a sense of pride, value or worth. Isaac was the son that Abraham and Sarah prayed for. The son that they waited YEARS after YEARS for as Abraham was 100 years old when his son was born. So, Isaac was a precious gift. I’d like to imagine that Isaac and Sarah’s faces would light up when Isaac would come into the room. That NOTHING was too good for their son. That the joy he brought them was unexplainable. So this servant knew this was a HUGE task that his master was asking him. The servant also knew when to ask a question and other options as a solution and then when to keep quiet and accept the assignment. Wow, accept the assignment? An assignment with specific instructions? Could we do this? I mean, we all like to add our own spin on things. You can tell me what you want and then let me figure out how to do it. The other interesting thing is that servant was the MOST tenured servant and he still didn’t feel that sense of entitlement; he did what he was told and followed instructions.

The next step was when Abraham’s servant went on the journey to find Isaac’s wife, he PRAYED for success. In Gen 24:12 it says “O LORD, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.

The servant prayed for success in his job. He knew that if left to his own, he may not be able to fulfill the requirements of the job. But he took the time BEFORE starting the task to PRAY to God for SUCCESS.  Not complain. Not talk bad about the employer BUT to pray for success.

How many of us pray for success each day before our day starts at work? Do we take that time to say “Lord please give me success today and show unfailing love.”? Or do we pray “Lord, please don’t let anybody at this job work my nerves today.”? Do we pray for the promotion BEFORE we’ve done the work? Or do we realize that with every promotion comes an increase in duties?

The third step that the servant took was to pray for a specific sign. In Gen 24:14 he says: This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”

The servant had good intentions as his reason for this specific sign was to know that if this sign was met, it would mean that God has shown unfailing love to his master. He didn’t pray for the demise of his master. He prayed that God would send a woman who was giving. I’d like to say, it appears that he took the task personal and prayed as if he was searching for his OWN son. Because we all know, nobody prays for your own (be that kids, spouse, jobs, etc) as greatly as you do.

The other thing I liked about this chapter was that in v16 it mentions that Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married but she was still a virgin. I like this because it’s a reminder that even though the solution to your job assignment isn’t what you pictured, it doesn’t mean that it’s not what God has designed to be the solution for you. Also, on a personal note, even though that man/woman of your dreams doesn’t fit all of YOUR requirements on your checklist, he/she does on God’s.

Next it says that servant watched her in silence, wondering if God had given him success in his mission (v21, NLT). How many of us have watched, SILENTLY, to see if we’ve had success at work. This speaks to my heart because the servant had a task where he obviously hadn’t done this before, so he didn’t quite know what success looked like. And instead of him looking at other servants and defining it, he watched silently, wondering if this is what God has given him. He allowed God to define what “SUCCESS” was. He didn’t look around at the other graduating members of his college to define it. He didn’t allow mainstream to define it. He didn’t even rely on his own definition.

The other thing about this verse (V21, NLT) that stuck to me was the part that says “wondering whether or not the LORD had GIVEN him success in his mission.” Interesting. Why would God give him success? Isn’t success something that you should have to earn? Not if it’s something that you’ve prayed to God for. And especially not if you’ve prayed AND done your part. If you’ve recognized that some things are out of your control and you’ve prayed to God and asked for success, God will give you that. You’ve done all that you needed to do on this journey. God is asking us to surrender our need for control and oru need to define everything so it fits our life. He’s calling and asking us to give it ALL to him. Once we do that, God will give us the desires of our heart – success, love, happiness, peace, joy, etc.

The story goes on to say that the servant found out that Rebekah’s family was Abraham’s family and in verse 27, he praises the Lord. He took the time to thank God right then and there for giving him the success he prayed for. A lot of us miss this praise part. We’ve prayed for a job and when we get it, we’re upset about the way a policy is written so we complain to God about the blessing he gave us that we prayed so hard for.

Then the servant meets with Rebekah’s family and explains his reason for his journey. Rebekah’s family offers him a place to stay and food. And he tells them “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come” (v33 NLT). He then shares his testimony with them. And at the end, he gives Rebekah and her family a choice. He asks “will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and I’ll know what to do next” (v49, NLT). He didn’t assume, he allowed them to make the choice. Once they told him yes, he praised God again.

A lot of good lessons in this story that apply today. If we are to be good employees, we must learn to accept the mission without complaints or hesitation. We have to pray each day that God will give us success at work that day. Then we have to pray and be specific with God on what goals we need to see come to life or what signs we need to see that we’re on the right path. We need to pray over our jobs and treat it as if it were our own company. We also need to be open…God’s solution may not LOOK like ours, but it will still be the best solution. Then we need to be silent to know that God has given us success. To enjoy the success we’ve been given. Then once God has shown us what success is and that He’s given it to us, we need to PRAISE HIM and give a testimony.