Our Wishes are of No Concern

 

Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the LORD’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern.” Genesis 24:50

Oh, to have such faith, such desire for God’s will that our wishes are of no concern!

These hearts of ours sure do have lots of wishes. And when they concern those we love, our vocation, our identity, we are especially specific in our wishes. Abraham was no different.

He was growing old, and his son Isaac’s future was primary in his mind. Issac, the covenant child, great ancestor of Jesus, needed a wife. Abraham’s last wish was for Isaac to marry a girl from Abraham’s relatives. After an impassioned conversation about Isaac’s future security, Abraham implores his servant to make a solemn promise to fulfill his wish. The servant agrees and sets out on a journey to Abraham’s country to seek a wife for Isaac. 

We don’t know the name of Abraham’s servant. I think it is reasonable to call him The Servant of the Covenant. Notably, this unnamed servant was a man of prayer and great faith, as evidenced by the way he fulfilled his oath.

He prayed, he observed, and he listened as he went forward to serve. He was not afraid to be honest and particular in the help he asked for from God. He ventured into an unknown place with unknown people and needed guidance every step of the way. So he laid out his detailed request to God and watched expectantly for His answer. To his great delight, God revealed His will before the servant even finished praying.

Before I finished praying in my heart, along came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder!

v. 45

Has that ever happened to you? God’s answer coming tumbling forth before you were even done laying out your wishes to God?

Abraham had surrendered his wishes to God long before the day he sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. It’s interesting to note that as his wish was fulfilled, Rebekah’s father and brother surrendered their wishes to God’s will also. We don’t know what their wishes were exactly, but we know that it was customary in their culture for fathers and elder brothers to weigh in on a daughter and sister’s marriage. None of that mattered to them on this day, for the will of God was joyfully, abundantly clear. Suddenly what seemed so important before was eclipsed in the joyful reality of God’s way.

My surrender to God’s will could lead others to surrender.

What joy to declare like Laban and Bethuel,

“This is the Lord’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern!”

Good things like love, honor, obligation, covenant, or culture may guide our wishes. Do we have the faith to surrender even these good motivations to God’s will? 

May we walk this life journey with honest prayer, full of faith, watching and listening with expectancy for the Lord’s doing.

Lord, I bring You my wishes today and ask that Your will be done in all things. Amen.

When have you seen God’s will joyfully eclipse what you thought you wanted? I’d love to hear your story.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash