One Year Bible Reading Plan and Devotional
Today’s Bible Reading: January 9
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Clicking on the Scripture links above will open a new window where you can read the scripture from the Holman Christian Standard Bible at Biblegateway.com or choose the Bible version you prefer to read. Check back each day to get the Scripture to read in the One Year Bible Reading Plan.
God Knows Your Need Before You Do
Before Whom I walk
Picture in your mind, for a moment, what it would be like to walk before God. Because God is omniscient, he knows everything. You can walk before Him, behind Him, or beside Him, and He is still going to know every single thing that you do, say, or think. But the concept of “walking before God” means that we live our lives in complete transparency and openness before Him. Walking before God means we hibitually live in obedience to all his commands and trust in his promises.
When Issac needed a wife, Abraham sent his servant back home to his family with the task of securing a bride. Naturally, the servant was concerned about the possibility of not finding a bride or that if he did find one, she would be unwilling to leave her family and move to where Abraham was. Remember that God had told Abraham to pack up and move – without even knowing where he was God. God knew, but Abraham had to trust that God would get him there. Now, Abraham’s life is coming to an end and he wants to know that Isaac has a wife and starts a family. So he sent his servant promising him that “The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee and prosper thy way.”
Will send His angel
God’s angels have the primary function of serving and worshiping God. They also are ministering spirits, sent out, not only for the protection, but also to guide the heirs of salvation. Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are they [angels (see vs 13)] not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” It can be comforting to know that God sends out angels to protect and guide us as we go through life. However, they are sent out by God’s will and under His direction.
Before the prayer ended
As the servant comes to the location where Abraham family lives, he stops at the well and begins to pray. He said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’ — let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.” (verses12-13)
Before he even finishes his prayer, Rebekah approaches the well and the servant hurries over to greet her. There is significance in the fact that the Bible tells us that before he finished praying his prayer was being answered. God already knew everything going on and he knew what Abraham’s servant needed: a bride for Isaac. The encounter unfolds just as the servant had prayed. But not only does Rebekah empty her jar into the trough, she returns to the well to draw more water until all the camels had enough to drink.
God knows our needs
Just as God already knew the needs of Abraham’s servant, God knows our needs. Whether they are financial needs, relationship needs, health needs, career needs, or any other needs, God knows. In fact, in Matthew 6:7-8, Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” However, this doesn’t mean that we don’t take our needs to God at all. James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.”
The finger of God
Now, as the servant tells Rebekah’s brother why he is there, he explains his mission, his prayer, and what had happened at the well, plainly showing the finger of God in the event. It wasn’t by chance that just as the servant arrived and prayed that Rebekah showed up. God knew before the servant arrived when he would be there and that he would pray for God to show him the right girl to be Isaac’s bride. So God had already orchestrated the timing of the servant’s arrival at the well, the location of the meeting, and the moment that Rebekah left to go to the well so that everything happened just as God planned.
We need to remember that things don’t happen by coincidence. The events which to us seem like the outcome of choice, contrivance, or chance, are actually moments appointed out of God’s divine will. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” God’s finger is all over our lives – in both the good and the bad.
Will prosper your way
As we read Genesis 24, we find that Rebekah does indeed leave her family and return with Abraham’s servant to become Isaac’s wife. It was a meeting that was planned in heaven, but took place on earth. However, we don’t always get things exactly as we pray for them. That could be because we are asking for the wrong thing or for something that is outside of God’s will for us.
It could be that what we think we so desperately need or want, is the exact thing that could cause us harm, so God is protecting us by not granting our prayer. It could be that God is working to grow our faith and dependence on Him. Or it could be that it just isn’t yet the right time and we need to trust Him as we wait on Him. Regardless of the reason we don’t immediately get exactly what we prayed for, God, in his divine omniscience, is prospering our way.
Abraham’s servant had his spiritual eyes open looking for the girl God had for Isaac. He also had his spiritual ears in tune, listening for God’s guidance in the task. Then he asked for divine help so there would be no doubt in the person God had chosen for Isaac. With our spiritual eyes and ears ready and a prayer of divine help, we can trust that God will prosper our way – even if we don’t currently understand what’s happening or feel like we can’t see God at work in our circumstances. What we can know with all certainty is that God knows what we need before we do and He is right now orchestrating everything around us so that all things work together for our good.
#ReadYourBible #Genesis #Matthew
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