Have you ever heard this quote before?
“Go the extra mile… it’s never crowded”
It captures the idea that there are many people who only do/work/give what is required of them. Yet what I’ve found is this: it’s the amount and excellence what is OVER and ABOVE the required, that determines the success and overall victory we’ll achieve.
Genesis 24:15-21 tell us;
“Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”
So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.”
This ‘servant‘ we read about was on a mission (sent by Abraham) to identify and recruit a suitable wife for his son Isaac.
Upon arriving at the spring, the servant prayed to God, and asked for a specific sign to show him which woman would be the right one to bring home for Isaac. More specifically, when he asked a girl for a drink, if she offered to water his camels as well, it would be the sign to him that SHE WAS THE ONE God had chosen for Isaac.
Before he had even finished praying all of this, Rebekah came out to the spring with a jar on her shoulder. It was time for him to sit back and see which one would stand out from the rest.
We see that Rebekah had some sparkling ‘outward’ qualities that would’ve made her a great candidate – she was beautiful and she was a virgin. BUT it was something else that set her apart - her willingness to go the extra mile.
Once their conversation began, everything unfolded just as the servant had prayed beforehand. Not only was she willing to help him in his own thirst, but she also volunteered to make sure his camels were taken care of as well.
He knew that his journey was a success, and that he had found God’s woman for Isaac!
The application we can draw from Rebekah’s story is this: she had a special spirit about her that was wide open and willing to go the extra mile… and that spirit opened the door for great things to come in her future!
I can’t help but think how the servant had brought TEN camels with him. You’ve got to believe this would have been a HUGE TASK for Rebekah to carry all that water to them all until they thirsted no more. She never blinked at it though, and gave herself fully to the task at hand.
Since she sacrificially gave herself to this act of service, God opened up a door for her to marry into the most significant family and lineage in the history of the entire world! Now that’s what I call ‘marrying up’.
What this means for us today is this: At the end of the day, God gave us the VERY BEST He had in His Son Jesus Christ. If we step out and give God the very best we have, I’m convinced it opens up the door for God to keep giving us His best as well.
So – let’s commit ourselves to follow Rebekah’s lead in our own lives. At work. In Marriage. With our family. Through service. In purpose. Watch and see how setting yourself apart is actually setting yourself up for something amazing in Christ!
