I believe God is involved in and cares about my daily life.
“I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2
In Genesis 24, aging Abraham sends his most trusted servant in search of a wife for his beloved son, Isaac. After a long journey, the servant sits near a well where he boldly and specifically prays for God to give him success. Before he is even finished with his prayer, lovely Rebekah appears. She’s clearly the bride he was sent to find, and the servant is utterly overwhelmed with how God answered his prayer. At dinner, he won’t take one bite of food until he marvels at the Lord, “Let me tell you what my God has done!”
How Do You View God?
The servant clearly had a high view of God that saw him as being engaged in the affairs of man. When I was young, I thought of God in two different ways—one, a cosmic genie pulling strings and yelling at people, and the other, a man in the sky who winds us up and sends us on our own way to fend for ourselves. Today, my view of God is vastly different. The Lord is almighty, gracious, everlasting, unchanging, powerful, holy, compassionate, righteous, and the list goes on and on, exploding the conceptions of my finite mind and dropping me to my knees in awe. God is alive and active, wooing and calling us into a deeper relationship with him. The one who created the universe and everything in it desires to be in relationship with you. With all your faults, brokenness, and shortcomings, he cares about you deeply.
How Is Your Relationship with God?
The man that Abraham chose to go on this significant mission showed devotion and reverence. He pursued his task with wisdom and diligence, calling on the Lord for success. His prayer wasn’t a cry for help in a moment of desperation—rather it showed an abiding and trusting relationship with a faithful God. Any good relationship is likely a result of effort and intentionality. Is God what you do on Sunday but the rest of the week he gets put on the shelf? He has more to offer than that. Jeremiah 29:13—“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” How are you seeking God? When do you spend time with him? Is your relationship with the Lord growing?
Are You Allowing God Into the Dark Places in Your Life?
I imagine the enormity of the servant’s task and the pending consequence of failure. I wonder if he thought he was up for the job ahead or if he’d rather have passed it to someone more qualified. There have been times in my life when difficult situations and circumstances began to pile on like bricks so that I felt I was carrying the weight of the world with no end in sight. During a time of great trouble and distress, I remember taking each day step by step, clinging to God’s Word and promises. You might be in that spot right now. God sees you. He knows every detail of what’s happening in your world. He’s right beside you, hurting with you and offering comfort. Do you know how much he loves you?
When Are You Celebrating His Goodness?
We often get caught in the loop of wake up-work-family-bed on repeat each day without truly acknowledging and sharing God’s goodness. Like the servant, I don’t want to take a bite of food without recognizing what God is doing in my life and testifying to his glory. What is God doing in your life and how are you sharing this with others?
PRAYER
Lord, when I consider all you are—Creator, Sustainer, Ruler over all—I’m humbled and amazed that you pursue me. Father, you hung the stars in the sky and command the waves, yet love me personally with gentleness and kindness. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Help me to desire you more, seeking and celebrating you in all circumstances. Amen.