Direction on the Road




 Genesis 24:48

and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

This passage tells the story of Abraham's faithful servant who was sent on a mission to find a bride for Isaac. And he does so, finding Rebekah. Note that it was the Lord who sent the servant to Rebekah -- it was the Lord who guided him along the way. The Lord acted like a GPS system in a way, and maybe that is how we need to think of God's direction in our lives. As a driver, you need first to set up the system. You need to fix on an end goal, however nebulous and indefinite it might be. You need to trust the technology, as you need to trust the Lord. Somehow you need to have confidence that the way shown is the right way, even when it appears that it might not be the case. You need to keep you eyes on the screen, just as you need to keep close to God as you travel on the path. Be attentive as to distance before required turns! 
In the quoted passage. note that the servant:
1) bowed down and worshipped. It implies humility.  It states that worship is important before going on the road. 
2) Praise. An attitude that needs to be continually on one's lips.
Let's get on the road this morning, after fixing on the goal and with humility, worship, and praise!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Justice on the Side of the Road

Image
Joshua looks at the future of his sons and their tribes. Genesis 49   “Dan [ h ]   will provide justice for his people      as one of the tribes of Israel. 17  Dan will be a snake by the roadside,      a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels      so that its rider tumbles backward. 18  “I look for your deliverance,  Lord . Justice --- policing on the side of the road.  Perhaps a mixed blessing for those who have a heavy foot and tend to exceed speed limits. Presently, however, policing is more important than ever. Since the pandemic, running from police is an everyday occurrence. Running, then chases that end  with fatal crashes involving the innocent. That happened recently in the Dayton, Ohio area.  I like the descriptor of "biting the horse's heels, so that its rider tumbles backwards."
Read more

Refreshment on the Side of the Road

Image
  Genesis 16:7  -- The Angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur." The story is one in which Hagar is fleeing from Sarah and the latter's  jealousy and cruelty towards her. And as she is on the road, she stops at a spring that is beside the road to Shur. And here an angel appears. Rest stops are always fun for me when on a long road trip. Some are formal rest stops, off the Interstates or the PA Turnpike. You leave the capsule of the car, and now you are around numerous different kinds of people, all stopping for the restroom or road food.  In the case of the PA turnpike, it might be Popeyes, or Burger King, Starbucks, or the convenience store with its variety of coffees, snacks, and if you rare lucky, roller dogs. But have you ever taken time to meet with an angel at the rest stop, or perhaps be an angel to someone in distress like Hagar? The rest stop is a perfect time to reach out to someone, becau...
Read more

On the Side of the Road -- The Prostitute

Image
  Genesis 38:14 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife Tamar is at the heart of a very messy family story.  At the juncture of this passage Tamar will be confused for a prostitute, but in the end virtue will prevail.  I am using these Bible verses, one after another, to get me thinking about the road and its meaning in American life. And this morning, the above passage gets me going about the prevalence of prostitution on the side of the road. We can place prostitution in the so-called house of ill-repute. But I think it is far more common to find prostitution and prostitutes on the side of the road. Or at truck stops. You can find prostitutes on urban streets, like here in Dayton on North Marin or East 5th Street. Or on busy streets in LA (Figueroa) , o...
Read more