Day 7 -- Genesis 24-25

In our reading for today Abraham says to his servant--"See that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth 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" (Genesis 24:6-7).

It probably would not occur to most of us to leave the choice of our child's spouse to the Holy Spirit, although I'm not sure why not. The lovely story of Rebekah at the well illustrates how the Lord will take care of the most practical matters of our lives, if we entrust them to Him.
Rebekah sounds like the perfect choice, doesn't she? Not only was she easy on the eyes, she was also a hard worker--the role of women in Bible times left very little opportunity for laziness. But the point of the story is that she was the absolutely right choice. God's choice. If Isaac had chosen, it might have been a mistake. But Abraham put the matter in the Lord's hands, the servant did exactly as he was told, and the result was a perfect one. Even Isaac approved. It says that Isaac "took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death" (24:67).

The reason our lives are often such a muddle, beloved, is that we do not put our practical choices into the hands of the Lord. We try to handle things ourselves, and as often than not, we mishandle them--disastrously. It is one of the themes that runs through these great stories in Genesis. When God is in control, things go marvelously well. When people try to run their own lives--remember the story of how Sarah took things into her own hands and offered her maid, Hagar, to Abraham--things get complicated and murky.

God has a plan, and our independent actions always get in the way of that plan. God has a way of working around our bad choices to do his will, but the by-product of our stubborn self-direction is pain.

But it is as true now as it was in the time Abraham, that the Lord is the Remover of Obstacles. And when we put our decisions in his hands--when we let Him direct our sails, he always brings us safely to the harbor we were bound for.