Who Determines My Future?

Thursday 10/24/2013 5:24 AM

Today my assigned scripture includes Genesis 24, the account of Abraham’s servant searching for a wife for Isaac.  As I read there were three things that impressed me about the faith of Abraham and the obedience and faith of his servant.

The first occurs at the beginning of the story when the servant questions Abraham about the wisdom of traveling so far to find a wife.  He suggests to Abraham that a woman from that far away might not be willing to leave her family to accompany him.  Abraham’s immediate response is, “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’ – he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”  Abraham didn’t hedge his bets by inquiring ahead of time about the availability of a suitable spouse for Isaac; he simply trusted that God would provide one of his own choosing.

The second occurs after the servant had journeyed to Abraham’s homeland.  When he gets there he immediately prays, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, show kindness to my master Abraham.  See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.  May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,’ and I’ll water your camels too’ – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.  By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”  The master has the same faith as Abraham.  He doesn’t scout out all the suitable spouses, do a background check and then select the one that seems best to him; he simply lets God do the selecting.

Finally, the response of the servant when God answers his prayer for a spouse for Isaac is impressive.  The Bible says, “Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.  As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”  He does not pat himself on the back for doing such a great job and devising such a great plan to achieve his goal, he gives the credit to God and acknowledges his guiding hand through it all.

I want to live my life like Abraham and his servant led theirs, fully reliant upon God.  I pray that when obstacles arise I will have the faith to trust God to fulfill his purpose in spite of the obstacles.  When faced with choices I pray that I will not hedge my bets and try to determine what is best for me but that I will trust God to determine the best path and live at peace with whatever comes my way.  And finally, when I have success in my life I pray that I will have the humility and grace to acknowledge that it is all the work of God and thank him accordingly.