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.
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