When I was an elementary school teacher, I spent my summers working for a temp agency. Mostly I did office work for different local businesses, and even spent one summer helping out in the temp agency office.
I left teaching at the end of a school year to have our first child (who was stillborn in December). That left me looking for a job in the middle of the school year. The temp agency placed me in the offices of a hospital downtown, which eventually led to a permanent job with the hospital. I ended up working there for almost three years. Not only did I enjoy the job, but I met some wonderful people who blessed my life. The job also turned into work I was able to do from home for a couple of years once I became a full-time mom.
I could never have imagined how all that would play out, but God knew. He put everything into place at just the right time. Hopefully you can look back over the years and see how God has orchestrated events in order to accomplish His will in your life.
Genesis 24 is one of my favorite Bible stories. Abraham is sending Eliezer far away to find a bride for his son, Isaac. Eliezer isn’t sure that he’s going to find a woman willing to leave her home and travel back with him to wed an unknown husband. As the servant prepares for his journey, Abraham says in verse seven, “The LORD God of heaven….shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.”
We see Abraham’s faith evidenced here. He’s trusting God to work out a situation over which he himself has little control. He’ll be sitting at home, waiting to hear how it all works out.
Arriving at his destination, Eliezer prays that God will send along the right woman. I love the boldness of his prayer and how specific he is in his request! He asks for a woman who will bring him a drink, and also offer to water his camels. Then, before he’s even finished praying, Rebekah approaches.
Not only does Eliezer get a specific answer to his request – he gets even more. The woman who arrives to fulfill these requirements is a member of Abraham’s extended family. The servant says, “…I being in the way, the Lord led me…” (verse 27).
God always prepares the circumstances for His will to be accomplished. If there’s something God wants to take place in my life, He will prepare the way. His timing will be perfect. He’ll put the people in place around me that are needed to make His plan work.
Of course, I typically want to work it all out, to see ahead of time how each step will unfold. But my part should resemble Abraham’s. I pray, I trust, I rest. As I study God’s Word and seek His face in prayer, I’ll realize anew that He can arrange things far better than I ever could!
Just as Abraham was seeking the best for his son, so I want the same for our daughters. I pray about college selection and career choices and future husbands, if it’s God’s will that they marry. Can I trust like Abraham did? Yes, God can give me the faith I need to allow Him to guide and direct in their lives.
Are you facing a situation that has some uncertainty in it right now? God will prepare the way.
And when you look back in the months to come and see what God has done? Be like Eliezer in verse 26. “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.” Remember to give thanks for the way God has brought you through and shown Himself mighty once again.
May this truth give us peace as we entrust our future – and that of our families – to His plan.
Related posts:
What Sarah Teaches Me About Faith
Make Decisions with Your “Future” Eyes, Not Your “Now” Eyes
Trusting His Grace When I Can’t See His Face
Tracey, you’ve nailed it again. Every single time I visit your site, I find exactly what I need. Wow. In this case, what you’ve written here speaks DIRECTLY to what my incoming college freshmen is facing and what she’s been voicing the last few days: uncertainty about how this whole college thing is going to play out. Like her mom, she likes what she knows. I’m sharing this with her right. This. Minute. Bless you, mama. (P.S. Thanks, too, for the blender advice which arrived in my email inbox today. Saving that for future reference, because I am not at all convinced the blender I recently bought is committed to its job.)
*college freshMAN…thank goodness I only have one right now. 😉
Thank you for your sweet words – and I’ll pray for your daughter (and you!) during this season of adjustment.
(Sorry to hear about your blender’s potential lack of commitment 😉 I had a friend text me this morning about how much she loves her Ninja blender, so I’m hoping my relationship with my blender will be a long and satisfying one 🙂
Heehee…yes, Tracey: isn’t that really what we hope for in our relationships with our appliances? 😉
P.S. Thank you so much for your prayers!
Oh, Love!!! This is THE PERFECT post-Harvey word for us!!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Yes, God will prepare the way, but it’s not always easy. It’s easy to overlook the long, hard journey Eliezer took to get back where Rebekah lived, and then to get back home.
But it is wonderful when I’m able to look back on a situation that I thought was untenable and to see how God had everything planned out to make things better than I could have imagined.
So true!! Eliezer had put a lot into the trip – he had to get to the place and the person that God had prepared!