"This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” (Genesis 24:14)
WHEN ABRAHAM was growing old, he knew it was time to find a suitable wife for Isaac. To accomplish the all-important task, Abraham called on his most trusted employee, Eliezer. This assignment was so important he would entrust it to no other man. "Swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac" (Genesis 24:3-4).
Eliezer knew what an important task he'd been given, so his first response was to saturate the process in prayer. He asked the Lord for a clear sign to show him which woman was right for Isaac.
We can learn something from Eliezer when we have our own big decisions to make. That said, I don't recommend laying out specific tests or parameters for the Lord. That's not how God works today. Eliezer didn't have the advantages of Scripture to read or the inward leading of the Holy Spirit. He did, however, have Abraham's promise that God would provide supernatural leading.
Sure enough, the Lord answered Eliezer's prayer. A woman named Rebekah came to the well and drew water for Eliezer and his camels. She was God's choice for Isaac, confirmed by this sign. While God may not give us such tangible signs today, he does guide us through His Word and through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to ask Him—and then listen.
REFLECT
When in your life have you sensed God's clear guidance? How can you become more attuned to His leading?
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
Content taken from FAITH FOR THE JOURNEY , by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2014. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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