Explore the Bible Series for February 17: Do you seek the Lord’s guidance

Posted: 2/05/08

Explore the Bible Series for February 17

Do you seek the Lord’s guidance

• Genesis 24:34-48

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

Anyone who has spent much time around a church certainly has heard that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Believers understand that God desires to reveal that plan to each of us and to lead us in fulfilling that plan.

Our problem is that following God’s leading often is difficult and many times we must admit we fail to seek God’s guidance. As we face various decisions in life, it simply is easier to rely on common sense or our own ideas of how to accomplish our goals. Perhaps at times we face a situation we have faced before, and, knowing how God had led previously, we assume God would lead us to do the same this time, and we proceed without seeking God’s direction.

The Bible is filled with numerous accounts of those who neglected to seek God’s guidance and the difficulties they encountered as a result. Even the great heroes of faith from Abraham to Moses to David experienced times when they wandered off the path on which God was leading. In Genesis 24, there is a story of a simple unnamed servant who provides us with a prime example of someone who sought God’s guidance and found great success in what he was called to do. As we study his story, we can learn some of the keys that will help us make sure we are always seeking God’s guidance.

Identify your tasks (Genesis 24:34-41)

Before we can follow God’s guidance, we must first know what God is calling us to do. Many believers may feel they know or have some general idea about what God is calling them to do. They may feel God leading them into some particular area of ministry and assume that they know (or at least can figure out) how to accomplish the task when God may have a specific place or method in mind which is different. As the individual jumps into the task and encounters difficulties, he or she may either force the issue or give up and resort to following own path.

Abraham’s servant was able to complete the task to which he was called because he had taken the time to find out exactly what the task involved. He asked questions concerning the details and possible complications in completing the task before he started. If he had simply heard, “Get a wife for Isaac,” he may have chosen a woman from the local area or at any point between Canaan and Ur. Once he found one, he may have used force to persuade or compel the woman and her family. Yet this servant demonstrated a deep commitment to his master’s plan by taking the time to identify the specific task he was called to perform.

As believers today seek to fulfill God’s purpose for our individual lives, we need to always be certain that we demonstrate the same level of commitment to discern exactly what God is calling us to do.

Rely on the Lord (Genesis 24:42-44)

Having identified the task, Abraham’s servant again served as an example to those seeking to follow God by relying on God’s leading throughout the mission. As he traveled he certainly would have remembered Abraham’s assurance to him that God would lead him to the right place (v. 40).

Once he arrived at the place God led him to, he first prayed God would lead him to the right woman. He did not go into the nearest town to find the woman. He relied on God to lead the right woman to him.

Today, when we have a sense of the direction God is leading, there is the temptation to plot our own course to that goal based on our best information and what we see as possible or feasible. It can be tempting to simply proceed in the way that seems best or to seek out short cuts. We can even find ourselves rationalizing our actions by telling ourselves that we are ultimately accomplishing the end to which God has called us and that we are doing so while making the most efficient use of our resources and abilities. Yet God often does not call us to a particular task to see if we can efficiently accomplish it through our own ingenuity or effort, but to see if we are willing to let go of our own ideas of what is possible and fully rely on God through every step of the process.

Praise the Lord (Genesis 24:45-48)

Finding success in the tasks God calls us to brings with it a real danger that many fall victim to. Often when we accomplish a task, particularly one which requires considerable effort or a significant stretching of our faith, it is easy to forget God’s guidance and claim responsibility for the success for ourselves. Abraham’s servant easily could have felt pride in accomplishing such a difficult task for his master. Yet as soon as Rebekah and her family agreed to the plan, the servant bowed and worshipped God, thanking him for the success.

Far too many believers over the years have accomplished great things by following God’s leading only to come to the end of the task and take credit. As we seek to follow God’s guidance, God is at work around and through us in ways that we will never know or understand. Apart from God’s guidance and empowering, we could never fulfill his call. Just as we seek to rely on God’s guidance to complete the tasks to which he calls us, we should never forget to personally and publicly praise him for the success when the mission is complete.