“The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.” (Genesis 25:22–24, ESV)
She said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. What do you do when life goes wrong? When things happen that don’t make sense and you are trying to figure them out, where do you go? What’s your first response to life’s conundrums?
For Rebekah, amazingly enough, her first stop was prayer. She started where most of eventually wind up. Her situation was confusing, painful, and even distressing. After waiting so long to have children, all she could feel was a rumbling. Discomfort was a frequent occurrence and she probably feared to lose the child.
Long before sonograms and MRIs, women had to trust God and rely on His intervention when problems and difficulties arose. What is interesting is that it seems Abraham’s family back east must have been worshipers of the Lord, God Almighty. After all, we are explicitly told, “So she went to inquire of the Lord.”
Not only did God answer, but He also gave her a detailed response. Once she had the “Doctor’s prognosis” she was able to go forward without anxiety. Now she was able to plan for the future, albeit a somewhat rocky one according to what God had said.
If God were to explain your difficulty to you right now – your lack of a spouse, your constant rejections on work applications, the hostility of your child towards you – would you want it? What would it do to your attitude and your life course? How would you use that information? What do you think would change as a result of that?
We are told to do just that: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5, ESV) Isn’t today a great day to drop to your knees in faith and plead with the God who knows all for understanding?
Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.
