Day 27: How will you respond to the Holy Spirit?

“Then they called Rebekah and said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ And she said, ‘I will go.’ Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.” (Genesis 24: 58, 61)

In Genesis 24, Abraham’s servant sets out to find a bride for Isaac. In this beautiful story, the unnamed servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit, who is serving God the Father to prepare a Bride for Jesus Christ.

In this parable, Rebekah is a picture of the Church and of the response the Church has to make to the Holy Spirit in order to qualify to be the Bride of Christ. Her response does not only reflect the Church, but also shows how you and I individually need to respond to the Holy Spirit.

Let’s consider seven aspects about Rebekah's response and their significance for you us as believer in Jesus.

1. First, her first contact was with the servant, not with Abraham or with Isaac.

2. Second, her response to the servant determined her destiny.

3. Third, her response was to serve the servant. She immediately began to draw water for his camels - very hard work.

4. Fourth, she received the gifts the servant brought.

5. Fifth, the gifts, when she placed them upon her, visibly marked her out as the chosen bride.

6. Sixth, she made room in her home for the servant and his camels. And let me point out that camels take a lot of room.

7. Seventh, she followed the servant in faith to her destination.

Let's see how this typifies the way in which we are required to respond to the Holy Spirit.

First of all, our first contact with God is always through the Holy Spirit. He is the one that first reaches into our lives and begins to reveal to us the Father and the Son.

Second, it is your response to the Holy Spirit that will determine your destiny for time and eternity.

At that point, through the servant, Rebekah was faced with a decision that determined her destiny for the rest of her life. If she said yes to the servant, her destiny was in accordance with the will of God and was good; but if she said no to the servant, then the rest of her destiny would never have been revealed to her and she would have missed all that God had purposed for her.

Why not take some time to consider how Rebekah’s example relates to your life and God’s Spirit?