Wouldn’t it be nice to know for certain which things in our life were “from the Lord?” For example, how many of us would like to know if a potential move, job or even a spouse is “from the Lord?” In Genesis 24 there is a story where this very thing happened. It is the story of Rebekah being chosen as a wife for Isaac and, before this story is over, Rebekah’s father and brother both come to the conclusion that her becoming a wife for Isaac is “from the Lord.”
As we examine this story we will see what caused them to reach this conclusion as well as get some insight into how we might recognize which things in our own life are “from the Lord.” The story opens with Abraham telling his servant to go to back to the land where he grew up, back to his father’s house, and find a son for Isaac. Abraham assures his servant that he would be successful in his search, telling him in verse 7,
“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.”
We see in this verse the first step to being certain that something is “from the Lord” – a confidence in God’s faithfulness to direct us and fulfill his promises in our life. This confidence that Abraham had and with which he assured his servant, stemmed from God’s faithfulness to him in the past. Even so, as we see God’s faithfulness in directing his people both throughout the scriptures and others we know personally, our assurance that God will direct our life begins to grow.
Abraham’s servant obeyed, taking the long journey back to the land of Abraham’s birth. In doing so, he was taking the next step in being certain something is “from the Lord” – getting in a position to receive God’s direction. Often times we too, like Abraham’s servant, must “set out” on the journey to what we are seeking from God before we will find it. Then, upon arriving in the city, he prayed this prayer in verses 12-14:
“O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham… May it be that when I say to a girl, '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.”
Here we find the next
step in being certain something is “from the Lord” – prayer for God’s blessing
and guidance. Notice that the servant
didn’t just pray for “success” in his search, but he also asked God to show him
specifically which woman was the right woman. In verse 15-20 we see that God not only answered his request, but
He did so immediately. This reveals the
next step in being certain something is “from the Lord” – an answer to prayer
that transcends mere coincidence. That
a beautiful woman from Abraham’s brother’s family just happened to walk up to
the servant at that moment and do exactly what he asked was beyond
coincidence. And, when Rebekah’s father
and brother heard this story, they both realized, this was indeed, “From the
Lord!”