I was pregnant for a second time. My husband and I had decided, with our daughter at 18 months old, that we were experts at parenting a baby. We now knew what we were doing and two children couldn’t be much harder than one!
As we watched the computer screen during my three-month ultrasound, we tried to understand what we were seeing. To me it looked like the two round shapes represented a head and a belly. My husband, who works in software, wondered why the computer was showing us two identical images.
The technician, seeing our confused expressions, stopped scanning my stomach, turned to us and said “I take it I am the first to congratulate you, you are having twins.”
So much for thinking another baby it would be easier!
Rebekah in the Bible, living thousands of years ago, didn’t have the luxury of ultrasound to discover the answer to her question:
The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” (Genesis 25:22).
Instead,
…she went to inquire of the Lord.
And, God answered her.
“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).
On the one hand, this made me think about whether we neglect to “inquire of the Lord.”
We should prioritize God’s guidance even with the amazing technological advancements and knowledge we have today.
On the other hand, this exchange between Rebekah and God, her question and God’s answer, made me ponder on those times which, if we’re honest can be quite often, God doesn’t answer our questions and prayers as easily or quickly as he answered Rebekah.
Perhaps, though, we can look at this dilemma in a different way. Instead of seeking answers from God, we are invited to seek to know God first and foremost.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need (Luke 12:41).
Rebekah got an answer but as the story of her two sons unfolded, how her older child served his younger brother came with conflict that seems partly of her doing. I have to wonder if she had sought to know God, things might have been different.
When we want answers from God, and we don’t get an answer or the answer we like, then we can also go down a path of our own doing.
We can also get stuck into doubting God’s goodness, that he cares for us. We may think he’s forgotten us or doesn’t love us. We can then live feeling disappointed, hurt, or even angry.
But if we seek to know God first, everything else falls into place.
If we look to God rather than answers, then we will know:
God has a higher purpose.
“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. “So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.” (Isaiah 55:8-12 MSG).
God is in control.
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God knows the past, the present, and the future.
Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT).
As I read recently, in Lysa Terkeurst’s book It’s Not Supposed to be This Way, “God’s got a handle on all that I’m facing.”
Although God gave Rebekah an answer, his truth in all the Bible statements above stands out as the solid ground on which we live much more than the facts of her answer.
It’s the same for us.
Pray
