{"id":5548,"date":"2023-02-05T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=5548"},"modified":"2023-02-01T11:38:13","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T18:38:13","slug":"when-would-now-be-a-good-time-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=5548","title":{"rendered":"Why not now?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We’ve observed that among Abraham’s primary attributes is his instant obedience<\/a>. Apparently, this attitude rubbed off on his most trusted servant, unnamed in Genesis 24, which contains the beautiful story of this servant undertaking a long and treacherous journey to find a wife for Abraham\u2019s son, Isaac. (Some people just assume it’s Eliezer from Genesis 15<\/a>, but the text doesn’t say so, and the events of Genesis 24 are more than 50 years later than Genesis 15.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, Genesis 24<\/a> is a story of faith, prayer, the sovereignty of God, and guidance. (If you haven’t read it recently, I encourage you to take the time now.) After he encounters Rebekah, the wife-to-be, the servant tells Rebekah\u2019s mother and Rebekah\u2019s brother, Laban, the story of God\u2019s leading. He concludes with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I praised GOD, the God of my master Abraham who had led me straight to the door of my master\u2019s family to get a wife for his son. (Genesis 24:48, MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the question is, will Rebekah\u2019s family let her go? The servant needs to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, tell me what you are going to do. If you plan to respond with a generous yes, tell me. But if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out what to do next.\u201d (Genesis 24:49, MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Laban\u2019s response? Is he opposed to Rebekah\u2019s returning with the servant to become a bride for Isaac? Apparently not:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laban answered, \u201cThis is totally from GOD. We have no say in the matter, either yes or no. Rebekah is yours: Take her and go; let her be the wife of your master\u2019s son, as GOD has made plain.\u201d (Genesis 24:50 \u2013 51, MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the servant prepared to do just that, but notice Laban\u2019s reaction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[The servant] and his men had supper and spent the night. But first thing in the morning they were up. He said, \u201cSend me back to my master.\u201d<\/em> [Laban] said, \u201cLet the girl stay a while, say another ten days, and then go.\u201d (Genesis 24:54 \u2013 55, MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laban was all for Rebekah\u2019s leaving as long as she didn\u2019t have to leave now<\/em><\/strong>. \u201cWhy isn\u2019t later all right? No need to rush into these things. There are preparations to be made, parties to give. We have to get used to the idea\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It didn\u2019t work on the servant. He served Abraham, remember? A man known for instant obedience!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said, \u201cOh, don\u2019t make me wait! GOD has worked everything out so well\u2014send me off to my master.\u201d (Genesis 24:56, MSG)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I call it Labanizing<\/em>. We say, \u201cI can see why daily time with God is a good thing, but I don\u2019t have time right now<\/em><\/strong>. Maybe later.\u201d \u201cI know I should be involved in mission, but I really don\u2019t have time either to do it or to learn how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many practices are we wildly enthusiastic about as long as we don\u2019t have to do them now<\/em><\/strong>? (In addition to spiritual disciplines, diet and exercise come to mind!) How many good ideas for change do we endorse as long as they don\u2019t have to be implemented now<\/em><\/strong>? What personal sacrifices are we willing to make\u2014just not right now<\/strong><\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When would now be a good time?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t know who first said, “When would now be a good time?” Many motivational speakers and authors seem to use it, including Tony Robbins, but no matter who originated it, there’s truth in it. It’s essentially what the servant said to Laban. “Don’t make me wait!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For he says, \u201cIn a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.\u201d Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6.2, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve observed that among Abraham’s primary attributes is his instant obedience. Apparently, this attitude rubbed off on his most trusted servant, unnamed in Genesis 24, which contains the beautiful story of this servant undertaking a long and treacherous journey to find a wife for Abraham\u2019s son, Isaac. (Some people just assume it’s Eliezer from Genesis … Continue reading Why not now?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8X9bo-1ru","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5548"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5553,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5548\/revisions\/5553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}