Last week, Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac. He was just about to explain his errand to Rebekah’s family. This little bit of the explanation in Genesis 24:39-41 gets left out of the lectionary.
It seems that the servant was really worried that Isaac’s future wife or her family would not want her to move so far from home. He voiced his concern to Abraham, and he repeats it here to almost complete strangers. He wants to make sure to fulfil the oath he made to Abraham but seems to worry about all the things that could go wrong. Last week, he wasn’t sure he would find the right woman. This week he isn’t sure she will want to leave her family.
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Have you ever worried about all the things that might happen or that might go wrong in a situation or plan? But what if… and you can fill in your own answer here. A few years ago, when I was looking for a new position, with relatively little experience, I wondered who would call me when there were lots of experienced people looking for positions. I worried because I’d already given notice and we had to move and with that date fast approaching the options seemed limited. I was afraid that we would be unemployed and homeless—we were living in a manse. I got caught in needing to find a job rather than trusting that the spirit would act and an opportunity would open. It was a really challenging time. I can relate to the servant with his “what if…” questions.
That’s one of the challenging things about living it faithfully. It requires us to act even when we have doubts and don’t know how something will work out. It would have been easier and safer for the servant to say, “You know Abraham, no one is going to want to send their daughter this far away from home. It’s pointless to even try to convince someone to come. Can’t I just go down the road to the next village?” And maybe Abraham would have been persuaded that it was a hopeless cause. But that isn’t how it happened. Abraham was convinced that the journey would be successful. He convinced the servant that it was necessary. Now here he is having dinner with the future in-laws and he tells the story of his doubts and worries and by including the angel he acknowledges God’s presence in the outcome of the story.
The doubts and worries that we have can point to real challenges or even probable outcomes. When we step out in faith, we find there are still possibilities that our worries may not come true. An alternative we might not have considered may present itself. Regardless of outcome, God continues to walk with us and be present.
Twirling Jen 