52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.” 57 Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said. – Gen. 24:52-58 (NIV)
How many of us have purchased something rather expensive, only to wake up the following morning with buyer’s remorse? Oh, dear… I wish I’d given this more thought… I didn’t consider everything this would require…. what have I done?!
This is what was going through Rebekah’s mother’s mind. The morning after agreeing to give Rebekah over to marriage to someone she had never met, her mother was having second thoughts. And what good mother wouldn’t?! But Abraham’s servant realized two important things: 1) That Rebekah was the one the Lord had chosen to marry Isaac, and 2) that he needed to seal this deal immediately, otherwise all bets would be off. “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted me success to my journey,” he replied. He was insistent in carrying out what the Lord had wanted him to do.
But still, there would be one final hurdle. “Let’s ask Rebekah once and for all if this is what she truly wants,” her mother replied. Turning to her, she asked, “Will you go with this man?” Rebekah replied, “Yes, I will go.”
When we feel the Lord calling us to do something He wants us to do, what might our initial response be? Do we take the time to go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him for clarity and guidance on the matter? Or do we appeal to our own thoughts and rely on our own judgments?
Once we can confirm that God has given us a directive, we would be wise to follow the steps of Abraham’s servant and obey what the Lord has commanded. This entire situation had been prayerfully considered by Abraham long before the servant began his journey, but even during the journey itself, God gave the servant specific signs that affirmed His will.
How often do we procrastinate and ignore God’s intentions for us under this fictitious guise of further confirmation, especially when it requires a huge step of faith?
I’m reminded of the old joke about the man who drowned in a flood, who upon his arrival in heaven asked God, “Why, Lord, did you not save me?” The Lord replied, “I sent you a row boat, but you refused to leave. Then I sent you a motorboat, but you ignored it. And then as you were perched on your roof with the floodwaters raging below, I sent a helicopter to rescue you, but you wouldn’t go. What more did you expect from me?”
Today’s Thought Worth Considering:
What is the Lord calling me to do that I am procrastinating about? Am I willing?
Former Blackout Artist 