Reflections on God's Word

by Victoria Robinson

Have you ever jumped into something quickly without bothering to ask the Lord what you should do? Never fails to turn out disastrous when we do not inquire of the Lord concerning our plans. In fact King Solomon said, “Don’t talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through.” Unfortunately Joshua and his leaders did not use this principle when they signed a peace treaty with some men they had just met. Turns out these men were deceptive and were actually from Gibeon. Before Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land the Lord had forbidden them to make a treaty with them.

Though the Israelites eventually repented of making a hasty decision, they nonetheless went through needless troubles before everything worked out. They understood that breaking their oath would only be another violation of God’s Word. Herein is another good principle for us to glean from this story. Once we make a hasty decision, it is unwise to violate the Word of God to get out from under it. We must follow God’s principles to find the way to success from our failures.

Dearest girlfriends, let us not be hasty, but ask of the Lord before we make decisions.

by Victoria Robinson

Girlfriends, an angelic treasure hunt sounds fun doesn’t it? I am not talking about searching for angels. I am referring to a beautiful story found in the book of Genesis. Abraham was old and wanted to find a proper wife for his son. He sent his chief servant on a treasure hunt and told him, “The LORD, the God of heaven, … will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.” Girlfriends, that is a breathtaking romantic story! We should all believe in God’s divine guidance when we seek to choose a spouse. My eldest son actually fasted and prayed for the beautiful lady he believed God had chosen for him. After a persistent romantic pursuit, (He inherited his father’s romantic gene!), she said yes, and  they are now blissfully married!

But this story has far more to do about a principle of our heavenly Father rather than about romance. It shows the wonderful guidance He wants to send us as we seek the treasures He wants to give us. In this story, His provision came through seeking, prayer, and angelic intervention.

Dearest girlfriends, are there treasures you are seeking from your heavenly Father today? If so, pray and believe Him to provide divine guidance.

Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “… I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will … go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The 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?” “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The LORD, 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. ~ Genesis 24:1-7 NIV

Then he prayed, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May 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.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. ~ Genesis 24:12-21 NIV

Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” ~ Genesis 24:26-27 NIV