Consistent Obedience vs. Grand Goals and Resolutions

Traditionally, for many of us, resolutions are part of our New Year’s celebration each January. Some of us spend time carefully crafting these resolutions. Some of us pray, fast, and seek a Scripture from the LORD to guide our year. Some of us choose a resolution based on what we don’t want to happen in the new year. Some of us use resolutions to paint a picture of what we hope to accomplish in the months to come. Often, New Year’s resolutions are grand and sweeping proclamations of our plans for the year.

This January, as I read the scripture in my daily reading plan, a very specific verse caught my attention. I was reading Genesis chapter 24. In this passage, Abraham sends his servant Eliezer to his relatives in Mesopotamia to choose a wife for Isaac. Eliezer accepts the assignment, loads up the camels, and sets off on the journey.

Can you imagine some of his thoughts as he travels? I’m sure he was full of questions and doubts. After all, choosing a wife for someone is a HUGE deal! We see some of his uncertainty when he arrives in the city of Nahor, as we read his prayer (Genesis 24:12-14). Eliezer had arrived in Nahor “at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water” (Genesis 24:11). His prayer was bold, and it was a peculiar and definite request. “Please show me the girl you have chosen, let her give me a drink of water and water my camels” (Carla’s paraphrase). The choice of the future bride of Isaac, the son of promise for Abraham, came down to a young woman’s generous offer to draw possibly hundreds of gallons of water for a man she had never met. That was definitely a bold prayer!

What captured my attention in this scenario was the fact that Rebekah was simply showing up “at the time of evening when women go out to draw water.” She was not striving to achieve some grand goal or keep a sweeping resolution. She was consistently doing the next right thing at the appointed time. She showed up and, because she was consistent in her actions, was positioned to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Consistent obedience in the mundane and routine is not glamorous. But consistent obedience ensures we are ready and available to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting as He leads us in His plan.

I can not promise you that choosing to do the next right thing at the appointed time will lead to a marriage proposal. But, what if God is waiting to see us trustworthy in the small, the boring, the difficult thing, so that He can trust us with the big, special, exciting next step in His plan for us? What if it is our steadfast and consistent obedience that brings Him glory instead of a grand goal? How would your New Year’s resolutions change if you were determined to honor God with your daily, consistent obedience in the routines of your life? When you read that Rebekah showed up “at the time of evening when women go out to draw water”, do you feel God nudging you about a specific area in your life? Is there a place of consistent obedience He is asking you to commit to?

I would love to hear how you modify or completely change your New Year’s resolutions based on where God asks you to show up with consistent obedience rather than grand gestures.

Serving alongside you,

Carla