Make Something Good Happen, God

Read Genesis 24-26

He said, 'Lord, God of my master Abraham, make something good happen for me today...' -Genesis 24:12 (The Common English Bible)


Greetings from Nashville! I’m here until Friday for a Board of Ordained Ministry conference. I’m reading and journaling this morning from the lobby of a hotel. In front of me is a beautiful waterfall.

I never really sleep well away from home. Add to that three long days of meetings and interviews and it’s easy to see why I’m weary. How cool is it, then, to open up the Bible for this morning’s scripture reading and find the story of a weary servant.

Abraham instructs his oldest servant to go find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. He makes the servant promise that he will return to Abraham’s homeland to find this wife. So the servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and all of his best provisions and left Hebron for Nahor, which some scholars suggest was about a 17 day journey.

I wonder if Abraham’s servant slept well away from home. I’m guessing that, by the time he arrived in Nahor, he and the camels were exhausted. Thirsty. Hungry. He stopped at the local watering hole for refreshment. Perhaps there was a beautiful waterfall nearby. Weary though he was, the servant put himself in a position where he was likely to encounter God. He prayed. “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make something good happen today. I will stand here by the spring where the women come out to draw water. When I say to a young woman, ‘Hand me your water jar so that I can drink,’ and she says to me, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels water too,’ may she be the wife you’ve selected for Isaac.”

Even before the servant finished praying, Rebekah came to the spring with a jar to retrieve water. When the servant asked her for water, she offered it not only to him but also to his ten camels. She invited the servant to her home, noting that her family had plenty of straw and feed for the camels as well as food for the servant. Rebekah eventually returned with the servant to meet and marry Isaac.

Perhaps you find yourself weary this morning. For some, it’s because you didn’t sleep well. For others, it’s because of the journey that you’ve been on recently. Why not begin this day by putting yourself in a position where you’re more likely to encounter God? It may be by a waterfall. It may be that you make your car a sanctuary by turning your radio down and your attention upward to God (If you pray while driving, please keep your eyes open). Try praying the same prayer as the servant: “God, make something good happen today.”

My prayer is that God will answer your prayer by placing a Rebekah in your path. Someone who will notice your weariness and who will offer you a refreshing cup of water or give you the nourishment (and not necessarily physical nourishment) that you need to get through this day.

May your day be blessed.