Angels Before Us

DAILY READING

Genesis 24:1-10

FIELD NOTES

When I was a young mother raising preschoolers, I had a friend who was 10 or so years ahead of me in the childrearing process. I remember her telling me one day that she had been praying for her children’s future spouses, even years before her children were old enough to date. I thought that sounded like a good idea, and when I remembered to do it – in the midst of the craziness of daily life – I would pray for my children’s future spouses. After all, the choice of a spouse is one of life’s biggest decisions with enormous consequences that reach far into the future. It’s not a decision to make lightly or capriciously.

In today’s reading, Abraham is faced with finding a wife for his son and heir to God’s promise, Isaac. Rather than taking a chance with one of the local girls who were not raised in the same culture as Abraham and whose values and religious beliefs were not the same as his family’s, Abraham sends his servant back to Abraham’s hometown to find a wife for Isaac. In verse 7 Abraham reassures his servant “he [God] will send his angel before you.” Abraham trusted God to provide the right person to marry his son and to be the co-heir of his promise, and he trusted that God would go before his servant to prepare the way for his success in finding a wife for Isaac.

As you contemplate important decisions in your own life, remember that you can ask God to “send his angel before you” to prepare the way for you. We still need to do our due diligence, but we can trust God to aid us and give us wisdom.

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Think about an important decision that’s coming up in your life. What criteria will you use to make your choice? What would happen if you asked God to “send his angel ahead of you” as you decide which direction to proceed?

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• What do you do when you have a big decision to make? Who do you trust to help you make a good decision? In addition to your parents or other trusted adults, remember to ask God to help you.

PRAYER GUIDE

Lord, help us to trust you to guide us through the twists and turns of our daily lives. Help us to lean on your wisdom and ask for your Spirit to go before us and prepare the way so we may live in a way that pleases you. Amen.