Genesis 24-25:11, Psalm 15

READ: Genesis 24-25:11; Psalm 15

Verses chosen for meditation: Genesis 24:7-8

[Abraham said to his servant] “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

 

Genesis 24:12-14

[And the servant prayed to the Lord], “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

 

REFLECT

Abraham had nearly reached the end of his life and the adventure he never dreamed he would have. Through it all, he had grown to know God, the God who is faithful to him and all that He had promised him, even when His promises seemed impossible to fulfil. It was a different kind of ‘knowing God’. His was a settled love, a confidence in God not lodged in his mind, but filling his entire being. He trusted God and loved Him as a friend.

So as he started to think of finding a wife for his son Isaac, he calmly instructed his servant that God had promised that through him and his son Isaac, the earth would be populated. There was no panic, no agitation. Just a calm instruction to his servant to go back to his homeland and get a girl, and God’s angel would direct him. And if the girl would not come back with him, then never mind. God would have other plans. Abraham had a calm settled confidence that God would keep His promise regardless of the outcome of this endeavour. Abraham had over the years seen that God had everything in His hands. Nothing could thwart God fulfilling His promise – not even Abraham’s own lack of faith.

Abraham was not the only person who had such deep confidence in God. His servant, having journeyed with Abraham since his youth, had also seen how God cared for Abraham’s household. He too believed in his heart of hearts that God steadfastly loved Abraham. So when he reached Abraham’s hometown, he not only asked God to help him fulfil his duty, he also asked God to show him a kindly virtuous woman. Not any woman would do, but one who would show hospitality to a stranger and his camels. This was a huge ask, but the servant reckoned that if God really loved Abraham, giving Isaac a good wife, indeed the best wife, was not too much to ask for. So the servant asked, and God readily answered his prayer.

RELATE

Does Abraham’s kind of settled, restful, trusting friendship with God appeal to you? The kind of friendship with God where you just know that God will see you through and give you the best even when circumstances do not appear favourable? The truth is that God wants this kind of friendship with everyone of us. Our Lord Jesus promises that He came that we might not only have life, but to have an abundance of it. Abundance of life – the best of everything. That is the promise that God wants to fulfil for us. But like Abraham, God will lead us through difficult challenges, failures, scares, crises, to show us that even through life’s storms, He will carry us through. Not just to survive, but to thrive. And like Abraham, we need to see God lead us. It is in seeing how far thus God has helped us, that we develop a loving trust in God.

Through each of life’s storm, let us learn to ask God to show us His faithfulness. Even in the toughest of times, continue to ask God to show us how much He loves us and will protect and provide for us. And after each storm, record (in a diary or in your mind) how God has helped you.

REST

Father, everyday you are protecting and providing for me. Even when things do not go as planned, you keep on faithfully caring for me. I am grateful. But help me remember, because I am forgetful. Help me remember each time you help me, that I may grow to trust you more and more. Because I want to have Abraham’s kind of faith, where I need not fret of things, but just feel so confident that you will handle the crises and still give me the abundant life that you promised. I pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Chiu Ming Li