“The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, 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 24:7, ESV)
The Lord, the God of heaven, he will send his angel before you … and you shall take a wife for my son from there. God responds to faith. Those who walk in faith know and understand it. We simply trust the One who walks with us, as a friend trusts another friend.
Abraham, now old and wanting to make sure the son of his old age, Isaac, had a wife, commissions his most trusted servant with the task. Sending him some 1,000 miles through dangerous terrain and possible bandits, Abraham is adamant that Isaac’s wife should be of his family and not of the inhabitants of the land.
When the servant replies with skepticism, the dialogue grows pointed. “The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.” (Genesis 24:5–6, ESV)
Abraham had no desire to cause Isaac any reason to drift away from the covenant and the promise. Too much was at stake. So, in faith, Abraham sends his servant in full assurance that the God who had never let him down would bring success to this journey as well.
Faith breeds assurance. God is trustworthy. However, just because He is trustworthy doesn’t mean we trust Him. Abraham had learned throughout his life that God “asks” for bigger and bigger things so that He can demonstrate He can be trusted.
You know this all too well. Each time God asks you pause. When God asks us to trust Him, He goes for the things that we doubt in, that we aren’t sure we can do. Those are the moments when God’s faithfulness is tested in our hearts and found to be true and real … if we choose to accept God’s request and do what He has called us to do.
Do you believe God is trustworthy? How are you demonstrating it right now? What are you doing by faith, without facts or evidence? That is when God responds. Do what He’s asked and watch Him work!
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.
