Sovereignty on Display

And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman [was] very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw [water] for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw [water], and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten [shekels] of gold, and said, "Whose daughter [are] you? Tell me, please, is there room [in] your father’s house for us to lodge?" So she said to him, "I [am] the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor." Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge." Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. (Genesis 24:15-26 NKJV)

You don’t get the full impact of this passage without knowing what preceded it, which was the servant’s prayer.

Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. "Behold, [here] I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’ —[let] her [be the one] You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” (Genesis 24:12-14 NKJV)

Truly God’s sovereignty is on display here. Have you ever asked yourself, I wonder why things turned out this way? It is because God is in control of every aspect of your life without doing harm to your free will. Some might ask, How is it free if God is in control? It is free because you are making moral decisions moment by moment. God never forced anyone to do something sinful.

So here is something to think about. All those difficult things in your life are there for a purpose. You may not understand the purpose, but you can react in faith. James tells us how we are to do just that.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4 NKJV)

Easier said than done right? Well James goes on to tell us how to do this.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 NKJV)

Prayer is the answer to, How do I count it all joy? Abraham’s servant was faced with a tremendously difficult task. How did he deal with it? He prayed a very specific prayer, and God rewarded him with a very specific answer.

Now, I am not advocating that you put God to the test. I don’t believe in laying out a fleece like Gideon did. However, I am suggesting that you pray and watch without trying to just escape your predicament. If you have the right attitude, and you count all things as joy, God will give you the wisdom to endure and grow through the trial.