Today’s Bible Reading: Genesis 23:1-24:51; Matthew 8:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 3:1-6
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
Who Do You Trust? That is the question today’s reading poses to me.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT, emphasis mine)
I just love it when a theme runs through the daily readings. When I came to these last verses of my daily reading it brought me back to where I am in the story of Abraham today. Abraham has sent out one of his most trusted servants to find a wife for Isaac. Chapter 24 of Genesis tells his story. In the past I have gotten annoyed at having to read the same thing over and over when the servant relays how he came to be among Abraham’s relatives upon finding Rebekah. I hate to confess that to you, but it is true. This morning as I was looking for those mentions of God that I am underlining this year I realized for the first time that the repetition is a wonderful example of the importance of sharing with others what God is doing in our lives. It was a great testimony to the plans of God as well as showing by whose authority the servant had come; not Abraham’s as we might first suspect, but God’s. The servant prayed to God for some very specific direction and God answered Him with a clarity that is just amazing. Sometimes in the familiarity of the stories I lose my wonder at what is really happening. This morning the familiar is exciting.
One of the verses that stands out to me this morning is Genesis 24:40 in which the servant quotes Abraham as saying, “for the LORD, in whose presence I (Abraham) have walked, will send His angel with you (the servant) and will make your mission successful.” That is such a cool line! “The LORD, in whose presence I have walked.” Abraham’s walk was by no means perfect, but by walking closely with God he had learned to trust Him with an amazing faith. (Remember yesterday the trust Abraham had that God would provide a lamb in place of his son Isaac? And oh, what a perfect picture of what He accomplishes for us by providing THE Lamb who took our place.)
My reading in Matthew continues this theme. Read Matthew 8:5-10. Jesus declared that this Roman officer demonstrated faith like He had not seen in all the land of Israel. Imagine that for a moment, Jesus was amazed at this man’s faith. An outsider, a Gentile, not an Israelite for whom the Kingdom of Heaven was prepared--this is the man whose faith Jesus commends to the crowd. O praise God that He has opened up the kingdom to us Gentiles. This God who adopted me is the God of Abraham, the God of the Roman officer, the God of whom the writer of Proverbs tells me to trust in with ALL of my heart. He is the same God today that He was then. I think that all too often my god is just too small. He must be or I would not put so much faith/trust in myself each moment. I need these daily reminders of just how great and awesome He is so I don’t confine Him into the way too small of a box I tend to put Him in. Oh, may I seek His will in all I do and trust the LORD with all my heart.
May grace, peace, and mercy from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ be upon you dear reader.
Debra
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT, emphasis mine)
I just love it when a theme runs through the daily readings. When I came to these last verses of my daily reading it brought me back to where I am in the story of Abraham today. Abraham has sent out one of his most trusted servants to find a wife for Isaac. Chapter 24 of Genesis tells his story. In the past I have gotten annoyed at having to read the same thing over and over when the servant relays how he came to be among Abraham’s relatives upon finding Rebekah. I hate to confess that to you, but it is true. This morning as I was looking for those mentions of God that I am underlining this year I realized for the first time that the repetition is a wonderful example of the importance of sharing with others what God is doing in our lives. It was a great testimony to the plans of God as well as showing by whose authority the servant had come; not Abraham’s as we might first suspect, but God’s. The servant prayed to God for some very specific direction and God answered Him with a clarity that is just amazing. Sometimes in the familiarity of the stories I lose my wonder at what is really happening. This morning the familiar is exciting.
One of the verses that stands out to me this morning is Genesis 24:40 in which the servant quotes Abraham as saying, “for the LORD, in whose presence I (Abraham) have walked, will send His angel with you (the servant) and will make your mission successful.” That is such a cool line! “The LORD, in whose presence I have walked.” Abraham’s walk was by no means perfect, but by walking closely with God he had learned to trust Him with an amazing faith. (Remember yesterday the trust Abraham had that God would provide a lamb in place of his son Isaac? And oh, what a perfect picture of what He accomplishes for us by providing THE Lamb who took our place.)
My reading in Matthew continues this theme. Read Matthew 8:5-10. Jesus declared that this Roman officer demonstrated faith like He had not seen in all the land of Israel. Imagine that for a moment, Jesus was amazed at this man’s faith. An outsider, a Gentile, not an Israelite for whom the Kingdom of Heaven was prepared--this is the man whose faith Jesus commends to the crowd. O praise God that He has opened up the kingdom to us Gentiles. This God who adopted me is the God of Abraham, the God of the Roman officer, the God of whom the writer of Proverbs tells me to trust in with ALL of my heart. He is the same God today that He was then. I think that all too often my god is just too small. He must be or I would not put so much faith/trust in myself each moment. I need these daily reminders of just how great and awesome He is so I don’t confine Him into the way too small of a box I tend to put Him in. Oh, may I seek His will in all I do and trust the LORD with all my heart.
May grace, peace, and mercy from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ be upon you dear reader.
Debra
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