It's that idea of readiness that emerged from a reading of Genesis 24 recently. Try and enter into two days in the life of Rebekah and ignore the fact that many of us know what comes next. Day one begins like any other. Rebekah wakes up and goes about her daily routine, including fetching the water. Little does she know that the very next day, she will get on a camel and ride off willingly with strangers, away from her family, to become the wife of a man she has never even met! As a more recently composed song has it, "What a difference a day makes"! Rebekah agreed to this sudden departure from home, family and everything that was familiar to her, I think, largely because it was clearly God's call on her life, given the way He led Abraham's servant right to her.
But now work through Scriptures and think of others who were taken by surprise when God met them and changed the direction of their lives. Abraham is one example, commended for his faith in Hebrews 11:8: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going."
Think also of David, out tending his father's sheep, the least favored of his brothers. The day started like any other for him and then suddenly and urgently he is summoned to a special sacrifice and Samuel anoints him as king over the people of God! (1 Samuel 16)
Then of course there is Mary, a young teen betrothed to a righteous man who had an unexpected meeting with the angel Gabriel which turned her world upside down in an instant and heralded the birth of the Messiah. (Luke 1:26-38)
There are countless people in Scripture whose lives were unexpectedly and in some cases dramatically changed in the course of a single day. Levi the tax collector, who became the Apostle Matthew (Mark 2:14) Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9). The list goes on and on. The sudden sea-change can happen at conversion or later in walking with God (as it did when Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the Holy Spirit on Paul's first missionary journey - "Set apart for me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13:2)
There are surely many other names in the Bible that we could add to the list - indeed, from this brief survey it seems to be a relatively common experience for the people of God. And of course, we know that it is not just blessings, but also trials and difficulties that can come suddenly and unexpectedly on God's children, as they did in the case of Job (Job 1:3 & ff.). There are several applications from these considerations:
- If we are believers, we need to be ready to have our whole lives turned upside down if God calls or so leads us.
- In the meantime, we need to seek God for the common element all of these Biblical characters had, and which enabled them to follow where God led them - faith. We need to be able to say with Mary not, "Let me think about it and get back to you" but “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). What courage, submission, confidence and faith lie in those words!
- Lastly, we know that sudden change (whether for good or ill) is not an experience that is reserved exclusively for the children of God. But whereas believers have God to confide in, His son to pray for them and His Spirit to comfort and strengthen them, how do those who spurn Him deal with such dramatically uncertain times?
