{"id":15953,"date":"2021-05-30T22:00:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_23_1-20-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-05-30T14:21:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T21:21:04","slug":"genesis_24_1-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_24_1-14\/","title":{"rendered":"When Looking For That Special Someone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 24:1-14\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 24:1-14.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 24:1-4 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had blessed him in every way.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I want you to swear by the\u00a0LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Even in Abraham\u2019s old age, Abraham still had goals to accomplish and things he wanted to get done.\u00a0\u00a0A top priority for Abraham was finding a good wife for his son Isaac, as per the traditions of his culture where parents would arrange the marriage for their child.\u00a0\u00a0Since Abraham could not do this himself in his old age, he delegated this responsibility to his chief servant and placed him under a strict oath to go back to Abraham\u2019s home country and find for Isaac a wife that met Abraham\u2019s criteria.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

First, no matter how old or young you are, be serious about setting goals and fulfilling your responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Second, the matter of finding a life partner is of huge importance, not at all to be taken lightly.\u00a0\u00a0For those who plan to get married, the decision of who you choose to marry will affect your happiness and destiny more than any other decision you make in life, with one exception: the decision to trust and follow Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0So you need to choose wisely.<\/p>\n

Genesis 24:5-8 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The\u00a0LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’–he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-8:\u00a0\u00a0Abraham insisted that Isaac must stay in the land of Canaan where Abraham was (v6).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s because Abraham knew that God had given the land of Canaan to his descendants.\u00a0\u00a0He did not want Isaac to get sidetracked and to go someplace other than the land where Abraham\u2019s descendants were meant to be.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, there are certain decisions you must make and boundaries you must decide not to cross in order to protect the inheritance that God has for you.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t be sidetracked or distracted from going after, and protecting, the inheritance that God has for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 24:9-11 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 11:\u00a0\u00a0Abraham\u2019s servant heads to the town of Nahor, which bears the same name as Abraham\u2019s brother (Genesis 11:26) and grandfather (Genesis 11:24).\u00a0\u00a0He goes to the well outside the town at a time when the women go out to draw water.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re trying to find someone special and you\u2019re not yet sure who it is exactly (whether it\u2019s a life partner, that next great employee, that next person to win to Jesus), go and make yourself available.\u00a0\u00a0Position yourself in places where you can potentially meet the kind of person you are looking for.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0This might seem obvious, but I find Christians can sometimes overspiritualize their search for someone special by \u201cleaving it all up to God\u201d, in other words, without making any real effort to find or be found.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut JB, didn\u2019t Adam fall asleep and when he woke up Eve was right there?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Yes, but that\u2019s because Adam had never seen a woman before.\u00a0\u00a0He had no idea what to look for!\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s not necessarily your situation.\u00a0\u00a0God is willing and able to show you who that special someone is, but you need to put yourself in position to find and\/or be found.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If you keep your head in the sand and you never try to make any connections with others, if you just expect that special someone to pop up out of nowhere, then don\u2019t blame God if you don\u2019t find the person you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0\u00a0Finding that special someone involves doing what is reasonably within your control and trusting God with what is out of your control.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 24:12 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then he prayed, “O\u00a0LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 12:\u00a0\u00a0Abraham\u2019s servant didn\u2019t just rely on his own smarts and strategies.\u00a0\u00a0Even more, Abraham\u2019s servant involved God in the process, asking God for success in his search for a partner for Isaac.<\/p>\n

Likewise,\u00a0when you\u2019re searching for that special someone (such as a life partner, that next great employee, or a friend to confide in), involve God in the search process.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Make Him the chair of your search committee.\u00a0\u00a0Remember that a successful search doesn\u2019t depend all on your efforts and smarts.\u00a0\u00a0You need to trust God and involve God in the search process as well.\u00a0\u00a0Wisely do what is in your control and trust God with what is out of your control.\u00a0\u00a0This is wisdom and faith working together.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 24:13-14 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’–let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-14:\u00a0\u00a0Notice that Abraham\u2019s servant wasn\u2019t just looking for\u00a0any girl\u00a0<\/em>from Abraham\u2019s home country.\u00a0\u00a0He was looking for a girl with a certain type of character, someone who had an exceptional heart to go above and beyond when serving others.\u00a0\u00a0Abraham\u2019s servant wisely valued character above looks, talents, wealth or status.<\/p>\n

Likewise, when looking for that special someone (whether it\u2019s a life partner, that next important team member or friend),\u00a0be specific about the kind of person you are looking for.\u00a0\u00a0If you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019ll fall for anyone.\u00a0\u00a0In particular, value the person\u2019s character above that person\u2019s appearance, talents, or status, because that person\u2019s character will have a bigger impact on the health and happiness of your relationship than anything else.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs 31:10 says, \u201cA wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.\u201d That is not to say that other considerations like appearance, compatibility, and talents are not important, but you want to look for character first and foremost.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me today that in the search for others I have a part to play and You have a part to play.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not all me, nor is it all You.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s You and I working together.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s doing my best with what is in my control and trusting You with what is out of my control.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s wisdom and faith working together.\u00a0\u00a0Today, may I be armed with wisdom and faith to make the best decisions.\u00a0\u00a0Have Your way with my life and future.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 24:1-14.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 24:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had blessed him in every way.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0I want you to swear by the\u00a0LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
\n4\u00a0\u00a0but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”<\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Even in Abraham\u2019s old age, Abraham still had goals to accomplish and things he wanted to get done.\u00a0\u00a0A top priority for Abraham was finding a good wife for his son Isaac, as per the traditions of his culture where parents would arrange the marriage for their child.\u00a0\u00a0Since Abraham could not do this himself in his old age, he delegated this responsibility to his chief servant and placed him under a strict oath to go back to Abraham\u2019s home country and find for Isaac a wife that met Abraham\u2019s criteria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15953"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15954,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15953\/revisions\/15954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}