A Journey With God

Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

Genesis 24:61

Abraham wanted to find a wife for his son Isaac. Abraham sent a servant, Eliezer, to his homeland to choose a wife. Eliezer realized this was a very important decision, so he said to God, “See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master” (Genesis 24:13-14).

Rebekah came to the well to draw water. When Eliezer asked her for water, she offered not only to get him water but also to get water for his camels. That’s how Eliezer knew Rebekah was the right wife for Isaac. He went to talk to her family.

Can you imagine someone showing up at your door and telling your parents that he wanted you as a wife for a man you’d never met? Not only that, but you’d have to leave your home and travel with him on a long journey in order to marry the man. That’s what happened with Rebekah. Of course, things like that were more common in Bible times, but Rebekah had to be willing to accept the fact that leaving her family was part of God’s plan for her and then travel by camel to Isaac’s home. Rebekah went with Eliezer, married Isaac, and gave birth to twin sons, Jacob and Esau. In making the journey, she fulfilled God’s plan for her and played an important role in Jewish history.

God has a journey for you, too. It may not be a trip to a new land like Rebekah’s was, but your journey means going wherever God leads you. For now, God may be leading you to school, to your neighborhood, and to your church, or maybe even to go on a summer mission trip with your youth group. Later the journey may lead you to college, a job, marriage, or motherhood. Like Rebekah, you can follow the course God has planned for you and know that God will lead you to the places where he wants to use you.

Read the story of Rebekah’s journey from Genesis 24. What things stand out to you about Rebekah? How are you like her, or how do you wish you were like her?