The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.
(Genesis 24:21 ESV)

The above passage, speaking of Abraham’s servant, caught my attention the other day. To see the Lord’s will he simply stopped and looked.

We are often moving at lightning-fast speeds. We move so fast we can’t remember what happened just a few minutes ago… that’s why we lose keys!

In all things, the Lord is looking to prosper us in all that we do (3 John 1:2), but this does’t simply happen by default. His favor IS unmerited, but it doesn’t touch everything I do. Here’s what I mean… Just because I do something doesn’t mean it’s blessed because I did it and I am accepted/approved/loved/favored. However, I do have the ability to only touch what is blessed, because God desires to give it in-spite of my failings. The blessing is unmerited, but it’s not automatic.

There are times (more than less) that we need to take a moment and learn if the Lord is prospering our journey. Whether it’s an offer on a house, a potential surgery, a job opportunity… we need to know.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to take a job at a growing church in Olive Branch, MS. It was great. More money, back in the South, big church… and we moved really quickly. The down side… the Lord was not prospering it. It was a huge mistake that could have been avoided if I would have stepped back and gotten a feel for what the Lord was doing.

On the other hand, when we came to Bethany we move pretty slow (to the credit of my wife). We got a sense that the Lord was prospering us in this direction… and we have been EXTREMELY blessed in this role at this church.

We learn from this passage that we can find out if the Lord IS prospering or IS NOT prospering us in a direction. WOW! Not only does God want to keep you from harm, but move you towards blessing! What great news!

So, take some time today… slow down and learn what the Lord is doing.

Be blessed!