Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful 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 young woman, ‘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.” Genesis 24:12-14
“The slave set out from his master’s house and got to Charan late that day after covering many miles. He mounted camels to make the going easier and then, bidding a long farewell to the gifts he was offered and to all the trappings of wealth, he raised his hands to heaven and begged God to make a match for the son of his master and to give him a daughter-in-law suited to his master in character.
Who but would admire the man for his piety? Or rather who could find adequate praise for his every single word? His prayer, you can see, is graced with faith, wisdom, and piety. Is it not supreme piety and wisdom to turn one’s back on everybody and depend on the providence of God for the success of one’s journey? Does it not exceed the limits of faith for him to rely on the justice of his master, to call the God of all things his God, hoping thereby to receive the answer to His prayer and to have his petition granted.”
Theodoret of Cyrus in On Divine Providence, Discourse 8, in Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation, ed. Walter J. Burghardt and Thomas Comerford Lawler (Mahwah: Paulist, 1988) 103.
Abraham’s slave demonstrated confidence in divine providence for success. This should cause each of us to pause and ask ourselves this question: What power do I trust in for success in my challenging endeavors? Do I depend on the trappings of wealth or leave them behind and depend on God?
Only God knows where we place our trust. Where do you place your trust?
My prayer is that He will find each of us abandoning the trappings of wealth and trusting Him to help us with what ever challenges we face and whatever needs we have. Let us trust Him as slaves of Christ like this slave of Abraham, because He is a faithful and generous God.