Week Nine - My Name is Hephzibah, He Delights in Me!

Day 55   Monday     11-22-10

Song of Solomon 4:9

You have ravished My heart, My sister, My bride. I am overcome by one glance of your eyes.

Last night in the prayer room was great. It was our day off so we only go to the 4am-6am set. Unless we go to an optional class at 1am. Then they ask us to be there from 2am-4am also (usually the class goes until about 2:30 though). I always go to this class because it's awesome and because by 1am there really isn't much else to do. Haha!

For the last few weeks God has been highlighting to me that He is proud of me and He delights in me. Every single time a person (especially those who don't know me) prays for m they always say, "He delights in you so much!" or "He is so proud of you!" Each time I hear those words, I will start to cry because it is so hard for me to believe. This all started when I had a conversation with my leader Amber. This subject came up and she suggested that I take time each night to say "He is proud of me" to myself. And I'm not saying that I would be trying to convince myself of this fact. No; our words have so much power you guys! Whether they are good or bad, the things we speak to ourselves and others do have an affect. (Proverbs 18:4, 21 - A person's words can be life-giving water words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook…for the tongue can kill or nourish me.) So I tried this suggestion for a night or two but I would always start to cry because I simply couldn't believe that a God like Him, could delight in me.

But after sitting in the prayer room a bit last night, I began to feel God's presence. I was sitting, soaking it in, when it suddenly just clicked! He is proud of me! He does delight in me! Finally, I could wrap my mind around it! But most importantly, my heart accepted it. Right after this realization, the worship team began to sing this song:

"I am the rose, the joy for which You died

And this I know, I move You with delight.

When my heart condemns on every side,

I take refuge in the truth, I am the rose to You.

You really enjoy me.

You really are for me.

Finally I'll believe it.

Finally I'll receive it.

I'll stop trying to control You.

I'll stop trying to resist You.

I'll just let You love me."

This new perspective on how God views me is incredible. It's a whole new mindset. Subconsciously, in the back of my mind, I always thought God was mad at me. But He really isn't. He is so proud of me. When I beat myself up when it comes to my lack of faithfulness to Him, He still enjoys me. I think a lot of Christians, and even non-believers have that "mad, mean God" mindset. But it's completely the opposite. He delights in who we are, because that is who He created us to be. 

Isaiah 62:4,5

But You shall be called Hephzibah...for the Lord delights in you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 

Day 56    Tuesday    11-23-10

"My sin, not in part, but the whole,

Was nailed to the cross

And I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord, Oh my soul,

Praise the Lord!"

Joel 2:12-13

That is why the Lord says, "Turn to Me now, while there is still time! Give Me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in grief; instead tear your hearts." Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.

Last night while in the prayer room at about 1 or 1:30am, we received the news of North Korea bombing South Korea. That immediately became the prayer focus of about 99% of everyone in the room. It was so powerful. We have a girl from South Korea in Fire in the Night; we call her Michelle. There are also many Koreans at IHOP that are in the nightwatch hours, including one of the worship leaders.

As we entered into a time of prayer (which lasted at least until 6am) for North and South Korea, Michelle began to weep while she interceded for her country.

Today Dale, our teacher for Life of David class, taught a little bit using last night as an example. He asked, "How can anyone stand strong in these moments? How was Michelle able to begin weeping profusely in a moment?" The subject of prayer, Michelle's country, touched something deep in her heart. She had a heart connection to the situation, but also to God.

God wants a heart connect with us. He wants our prayers to mean something. If I just "quote" my prayer, my heart isn't connected. Yes, God still hears, moves and cares, but He'd much rather us pray with emotion behind it. With our heart feeling what is on His, breaking for breaks His. Michelle tore her heart, and poured out her pain to Him.

Which brings me to another question.

Did you know that our pain is an offering to God? With our pain, we have two options. It can be a badge we wear, or it can be an offering.

Some people (myself included) can wear their pain almost as a badge of honor. Saying, "Hey look everybody! Look at what I've been through! Isn't it awful?" This can lead to self-pity and the victim spirit (both of which I am familiar with). Now don't get thrown off by the word "spirit". It's not like a demon or anything. In contexts like this, you can replace "spirit" with "mindset". In this situation, it is the thinking or desire to present yourself as a victim in order to get sympathy and pity from others.

Or, we have option number two. We can present our pain as an offering by pouring it out to God, at the alter, the cross.

This is what God desire for us, because He is a good Father who doesn't wish for His children to be in pain. Our pain was nailed to the cross along with Jesus. There is no need for us to carry it any longer.

Matthew 11:28 says

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

I don't know about you, but I want my pain to be an offering in the eyes of God.

Sitting in the prayer room tonight, thinking about this, I thought "Well, if we focus on our pain and self-pity, isn't that almost like cheating on God? He deserves our full attention and for us to give the glory to Him." Then He reminded me of the book of Hosea.

Basically the story is, Hosea marries a prostitute, she continuously cheats on him, but he always takes her back. God is like that too. Whenever we run after other things, focus on other things, He willalways take us back. Here are some verses from Hosea:

Hosea 2:5,14,19-20

She said, "I'll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and drink, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil."

But then I will win her back again…I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness, and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine.

Hosea 3:1b

"…Bring her back to you and love her even though she loves adultery."

Hosea 6:2

In just a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence.

Hosea 14:4

The Lord says, "Then I will heal you of your idolatry and faithlessness, and my love will know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever."

I don't want to be a "prostitute", selling myself to other things. I want to be faithful to God in all areas of my life! 

Day 59    Friday    11-26-10

John 19:34

One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a spear, and blood and water poured

out.

Today there was no EGS because of Thanksgiving break, so we didn't have anything except for a class at 9pm. In this class we watched a documentary called "The Case for Christ". It's made by an atheistic journalist about his search on Jesus Christ. It was phenomenal. It answers so many questions, specifically historical questions about Jesus and the Bible. One thing that really struck me was this:

Medical experts say that when Jesus' side was pierced, it most likely resulted in His heart rupturing.

Jesus' heart was broken for us.

No Katie, His heart ruptured because His side was pierced.

Yeah, but He was on that cross for us.

He gave His life for us.

He took on sin for us.

He went to Hell and back for us.

He chose death because of His love for us.

He loved us so much, that His heart was literally broken.

After the movie, we had discussion time and my teacher showed us something really cool. 

Psalm 22:1a,16-18

My God, my God! Why have You forsaken me? My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body. My enemies stare and gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves ad throw dice for my garments.

Back then, in order to graduate school, you were required to memorize the entire Torah (or Old Testament) which includes the Psalms. This Psalm is considered a prophetic passage, speaking of the coming Messiah. Now look at this:

Matthew 27: 35,46

After they had nailed Him to the cross, the soldiers gambles for His clothes by throwing dice. At about 3 o'clock, Jesus called out, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?" which means "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Here you see first hand one of the 4 dozen Old Testament prophesies Jesus fulfilled. And because everyone around Him knew Psalm 22, they knew at that moment exactly what had just happened.

Matthew 27:54

The Roman officer and the soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified at what just happened and said, "Truly, this was the Son of God."

Week Eight - Continuing to Grow

Day 48     Monday     11-15-10

Galatians 5:22,25

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.

The Holy Spirit. Woah, Katie...slow down. Are you really gonna go there? Yeah, I am. So many people and churches today are afraid to talk about the Holy Spirit. You know why? Because it's "out there", "different", "scary", "unknown". When in reality, the Bible actually tells us that the Holy Spirit is a vital part to our Christian walk. Besides; God is "unknown" too. Even "scary"! Have you ever read the book of Revelation? That's pretty darn scary if you aren't prepared. But being a Christian is a journey of growing in your knowledge of God, and cultivating a relationship with Jesus. So really, what's the difference? God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity.

Everyone who was raised in the church knows (or at least should know) the "Fruits of the Spirit" (which were just listed in the verse). They aren't called the "Fruits of God". They are called the "Fruits of theSpirit". A lot of non-Christians believe in God. Heck, even demons know who God is. But it's the Holy Spirit dwelling within yo that produces this fruit.

Acts 12:3 says

No one is able to say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

Ok, anyone can say "Jesus is Lord if they wanted to, but what I think Paul is saying here is, no one can truly believe it, live it out and proclaim those 3 words without the Holy Spirit. So every Christian who lives out their faith, is accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:1a

So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.

Well, Katie, I don't really know how to "live according" to the Holy Spirit. TRUST.

T - "Thank You". Thank the Holy Spirit for being with you, for His loving leadership in your life.

R - "Reign in me". Let Him lead you in every part of your life. Which is easier said than done...I know.

U - "Use me". Ask Him to use you in other peoples lives.

S - "Strengthen me". We all need strength...just for life in general!

T - "Teach me". Ask Him to guide you into truth with your life, with His word etc.

There; there's where to start. The Holy Spirit will take you from there! :D

Day 53    Saturday    11-20-10

Matthew 6: 1-2,4

Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven. When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do - blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity. I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

"I want to live before Your eyes,

I want to stay before Your gaze,

Keep me steady here.

I wanna be found faithful,

I wanna be found steady

Till the end."

Mike Bickle taught on this verse today in Church and it really hit home for me. A lot of the time, I do "good works" because I want certain people to see, or I wanted approval etc. I know this verse was in the Bible, but I kinda ignored it. God highlighted it to me tonight. He showed me that I never feel accepted with who I am, and I don't feel worthy of love, and therefore I do things for acceptance and approval. I've always wanted people to look and say, "Wow. Look at her, she's super nice!" Half the time, since I'm so used to doing this, I do it subconsciously.

Ok, so I have to do everything good in secret?

Nope. That's pretty much impossible. Somedays, you are going to do stuff that people do see, and they will praise you fr it. There's nothing wrong with that. But our motive behind why we do god works should always be evaluated. If we get mad ecause we didn't get the recognition we "deserved" from doing something, then our motive probably wasn't pure. I don't know about you, but I would rather have Jesus say "Wow. Look at what she is doing for Me!" (Matthew 25:40 - I assure you, what you did for one of the least of these, you also did for Me)  I'd rather get my eternal reward, than a reward that lasts for 5 minutes. 

Week Seven - Healing Within

Day 42    Tuesday      11-9-10

Hebrews 12:1b

And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Today in my Life of David class, my teacher Dale Anderson shared stories of his time in Jerusalem these past couple weeks (Eddie B was our sub while Dale was gone). There is one story that I loved. Dale went to the "wailing wall" (or "western wall") where there is 24/7 prayer. Now I don't know anything about this wall but it is very famous, especially in any religious culture. When people pray there it almost looks like they are praying to the wall, but they aren't. Religions and races from all over the world go there to pray. I'll have to do more research as to the significance of this wall. Anyway, Dale is standing at the wall praying and out of the corner of his eye he ses this Rusian man approaching the wall. He has on one of those Jewish hats, a prayer shawl and is holding what seems to be a piece of paper with a prayer he is reading. The Russian man is slowly approaching and is in a very spiritual moment, when all of a sudden, a bird flies overhead and poops all over him! Dale said that this an had a friend tat happened to be video taping this whole thing and they should send it to America's Funniest Home Videos...hahaha! So this friend takes a cloth out of his backpack and helps the man get cleaned up. The man then proceeds to drop his paper with the prayer, leans his head on the wal and begins to weep crying out to God. 

Dale's moral of the story was, "No matter what life craps on you, keep pressing into God." 

When times are hard, that is the best time to be pressing in even harder. Because you are at your lowest point which allows God to build you up even more. And God will give us the endurance we need to keep pressing onward. He won't let us down!

Day 44    Thursday   11-11-10

These last two days the whole Fire in the Night Internship went through an intensive called "Relational Wholeness" (It's very similar to Cleansing Stream, for those of you from my church). It's basically inner healing stuff. It brings up a lot of pain and wounds from the past. Some of the subjects were, the "mother wound", the "father wound", "forgiveness" and a few others. It was incredible. God showed me a lot of stuff. For example, I didn't think I had a mother wound, but I totally did. So, you ask, "Why would you want to bring up old pain?"

Psalm 51:10,17; 147:3

Create in me a clean heart, Oh God. Renew a right spirit within me. The sacrifice You want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, You will not despise. He heals the broken hearted, binding up their wounds.

If that doesn't answer your question, then I guess all I can tell you, is that now, I know a lot of what caused pain in my heart. And because of that, I am able to ask God to help me with my pain, give it to Him and therefore grow deeper in my relationship with Him (and other people) without walls hindering me.

On that note, I just wanted to share that I feel so privileged to be here. Sometimes I'll be sitting in the prayer room and I'll think, "Wow. I am so blessed! I am able to be here for 6 hours, 6 days a week worshiping my God, without the worries and busyness of normal life to distract me." I love it! I was so worried coming here. I thought 6 hours was impossible. But honestly, it's a piece of cake. Yes, there are some hours that go slower than others, but that is perfectly normal. I love the fact that I can just sit at the feet of Jesus. That is my school. My "Higher education".....literally! Haha. I can't think of any place I'd rather be. IHOP has defiantly become home to me...along with Plymouth, Elk River and Papillion...I am hoping that this is where God wants me to be for a long time! :D 

Week Six - He Has the Key to Unlock My Heart

Day 35    Tuesday     11-2-10

Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Jesus Christ from the law of sin and death.

"You're my great reward

You're who I'm longing for.

My beautiful inheritance Jesus"

Condemnation: To judge or pronounce unfit for use

Today was crazy! I'll start at the beginning. We had our "Harp and Bowl" class today (basically we are put on worship teams so we get to lead worship. Revelation 5:8 says why it's called Harp and Bowl. Basically it's worship and prayer together). For the first 45 minutes we have a teaching on the principles of worship etc, then we have a break and for the last hour we just enjoy worship from the team that is leading that week (my team leads worship on December 7th….I'm on the piano!). During the teaching, about 20 minutes before the break, I was randomly flooded with thoughts and feelings from my past, specifically this last year. I felt a heaviness and I literally was hunched over in my chair. I felt like I was about to have an anxiety attack, or something. I really didn’t know what was going on, but I remember thinking, "Nothings wrong with you. You are fine, you just want attention." But our break came and I grabbed my friends Cait and Kendall. We went outside and as I started to tell them what I was feeling, I started to cry. Kendall grabbed me in a hug and started to pray over me. A couple other people gathered around, laid their hands on me and were praying too. After a minute or so Kendall told me to look at her. Now, I've never had issues making and keeping eye contact with anyone (unless I'm distracted) but I simply could not keep eye contact with Kendall. I started to cry harder and every time I tried to look her in the eye it literally felt like I was looking at Jesus. His light was shining so powerfully through her eyes and I had to look away. I sank to the ground as she kept saying, "Katie, look at me!" She finally had to just grab my face and hold it up. I shut my eyes for a second but as I did, Kendall said, "Katie, you no longer walk in condemnation!" Immediately the weight lifted and I was able to look her in the eyes without wavering. She finished praying for me and soon our break was over. We went back inside, began to worship, and I felt on top of the world! My heart was so light! For the past couple weeks, I have been asking God to pour His love out on me. I know He loves me, but I haven't felt it on my heart for at least 3 years. Anyway, a little later we had our Life of David class. About 10 minutes of the class went by and my teacher goes "Whoa! I just felt the presence of God! Let's just pray and wait" (that's one thing I love about classes here. The notes aren't as important as what God really wants to do in the class!) God began to touch people all around to room. Some were laughing, some were crying. A guy started to play a little music on the keyboard. I was just standing still, worshipping and one of the leaders came and started to pray for me. He said a lot of stuff before he said, "God, unlock her heart, release emotion." I began to cry a little bit. Then Eddie B (my teacher who was still up front with the microphone) said, "I really feel like God wants to unlock hearts and release emotion." Crazy! I started to weep. Before I knew it, there were about 5 people around me, praying for and comforting me. I sat down in my chair and I could feel my heart being touched. I could feel God's love toward me, but at the same time, pain from my past randomly kept popping up. I had very mixed emotions. This went on for about 35 or 40 minutes, just me weeping and weeping. By the time I had calmed down, I was on the floor scrunched into a ball, snot and tears everywhere. I asked, "God, what was that?!" He gave me a picture of a hard boiled egg. I love hard boiled eggs but I hate the yellow middle. It's gross! In this picture, I saw the egg being cracked, the shell taken off, and thrown away. The egg was then split in half and all the gross yellow stuff was taken out and tossed. That was my heart. The condemnation (the shell) had been taken off and all the gross pain was thrown away. Amazing, right?! But wait, there's more! Each week, a different apartment is in charge of cleaning the prayer room. I was assigned cleaning the glass doors of the little side rooms within the prayer room. As I was cleaning, I heard the sound of my cloth squeaking and I could see my reflection in the glass. God told me something else. "That, is your heart. I have wiped it down, it is squeaky clean, and now people will see me through your heart even more than before." Wow. Now God just needs to fill me with more of Him, and that is a lifetime process!

Day 36          Wednesday       11-3-10

Luke 10:34-35

Then a despised Samaritan came along and when he saw the man, he fell into deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed to innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. "If his bill runs higher than that," he said, "I'll pay the difference next time I am here.

In our apartment burn team tonight (a 30 minute meeting we have as an apartment with our leaders before going into the prayer room), we were asked the question, "What does a true, godly friendship look like?" This story of the Good Samaritan is very well known, at least to me, but I never related it to friendship. Let's take it apart!

Earlier in the story we are told that man is beaten, robbed of his clothes and money and left for dead on the road. Then the Samaritan comes to bandage him and give him medicine.

Step 1: We need to vulnerable in friendships. This isn't going to happen right away, but true friends should be able to stand before each other with nothing to hide. That way, we can help the other person with "bandages and medicine."

Step 2: So, he just gave him medicine and bandaged him up (which I'm sure took a bit longer than 5 minutes). Bow the Samaritan puts the beat up guy on his own donkey! Not only is he sharing his stuff, but he's using energy…'cause I'm sure that wasn't easy. Then he took him to an inn to take care of him. Again, I'm pretty sure the inn wasn't just a few blocks away. So, #2 - Time and energy.

Step 3: Money. The Samaritan paid to pieces of silver. Some translations say 2 denarii. Back then, a denarii was worth one days work. So this guy paid 2 days work for a complete stranger and still offered to pay the difference! I don't know if I would be able to do that.

Do you have to have God at the center of your friendships to complete these 3 tasks? Of course not. One of my roommates said that she was still a really good friend to those around her in her 3 years of rebellion against God. But this is just one Biblical example we can follow. So what does make a good Godly friendship, apart from these principles?

Proverbs 27:17

As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.

When God is the center of your friendship, then He is the "common denominator". You are both reaching for Him and you can push each other in that, helping one another when you struggle.

John 15:15

I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

Yeah, Jesus said that. And he wasn't kidding when He said it either. He genuinely wants to be your friend!

Day 37       Thursday         11-4-10

1 Corinthians 13:13

There are three things that will endure - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.

We talked about love in class today. Ruth, our teacher gave us a diagram about love and I will draw a picture to post. The points on this diagram were this:

            A) We need to receive God's love,

            B) Then return the love to God,

            C) Which will result in the ability to love ourselves,

            D) And therefore we can genuinely love others.

Our love is broken, because we are human. But it's ok. God loves our broken love. He loves us in our weakness. We don't have to be whole for Him to love us. He loves us just the way we are.

During the 4am-6am set tonight I was just sitting in my chair holding my bible. I really didn't know what to read but I felt God leading me to Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future"). I was like, "God, really? I know that verse! It was the verse on my graduation party cake!" But He told me to keep reading. This is what it said:

Jeremiah 29:12-14

"In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me in earnest, you will find Me when you seek Me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again t your own land."

Whoa. That's like my past, present, and future right there! I have always loved verse 11. Made me look forward to what was up ahead. Now, I am in a season, for at least the next 5 months, where my main focus is prayer and seeking God. I'm not sure what the last part means but I'm excited to find out!

Day 38        Friday           11-5-10

Genesis 24:2,4

One day Abraham said to the man in charge of his household, who was his oldest servant…"Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives and find a wife there for my son Isaac."

We had EGS again today and the sermon was phenomenal! Mike Bickle taught on the entire chapter of Genesis 24 and how it relates to Jesus and the church (kind of like last weeks Adam and Eve sermon. I think it's a series he's doing.). I don't want to write out the entire chapter so I will just tell you the basic story and encourage you to read it for yourself (you can find a video of the teaching and the notes on ihop.org).

So Abraham asks his oldest servant to find a wife in Nahor (Abraham's homeland) for his son Isaac. The servant swore to do this and took 10 camels filled with gifts of gold and silver. He stopped by the well outside of Nahor and he asked God to show him which girl who came to the well he should bring back to Isaac. In verse 14 he says

"This is my request. I will ask one of them for a drink. If she says 'Yes, certainly, and I will water your camels too!' let her be the one You have appointed as Isaacs wife."

Sure enough, the first girl he sees, named Rebekah says that very thing. She proceeds to water his 10 camels. He then asks if her father would have a place for him to stay. He gives her expensive gifts for her help. To make a long story short, he goes home with her, meets her family, asks her to come back to be Isaacs wife (because that family all knew Abraham so it wasn't like they were total strangers), she accepts and goes with him. So! There's a lot here. Abraham is a picture of the heart of God the Father to find a wife for His Son. Isaac is a picture of Jesus, the Son waiting for a bride. Abraham's servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit. Rebekah is a picture of believers in Christ. God sent us His most trusted servant, the Holy Spirit, on a mission to prepare a Bride for His Son Jesus. Make sense so far? Good.

The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land…" Abraham said to him, "…if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath." (verses 5 and 8)

Notice that Abraham is not forcing any woman to do something she doesn't want. That's like God with our free will. God loves us, and wants us to be with Him, so He will put up road blocks, close doors in our lives etc etc but He will never, under any circumstance, touch our free will. He wants us to love him on our own accord.

The servant heads out to Nahor with 10 camels and lots and lots of stuff. First of all, the city of Nahor was about a two week journey from where Abraham lived in Hebron. The 10 camels speak of the riches of God's grace, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and God's abundant provision available to all who receive it (Ephesians 1:7,2:7,3:8). So, he gets to the city well and asks a "young woman" for water. Typically in the Bible, "young woman" typically means about 15-17 years old. Now, for some math. Rebekah watered all the camels as well. Camels can drink up to 50 gallons of water in one sitting (and remember, it has been two weeks since they left home). 10 camels require 500 gallons of water (a gallon of water is 8 pounds…not including the pot it is carried in). She had to move 4,000 pounds of water between the well and the trough. If she took 10 gallons per trip (80 pounds…), at 5 minutes per trip…it would have taken her 5 hours. What?! That is one, physically fit little girl. Rebekah responded quickly and extravagantly. The servant only asked her for a little respond, but she gave a big one. This is a picture of the heart of the bride as God intended. The Spirit is looking for an extravagant respond from us. The heart of the Bride goes far beyond the call of duty.

In verse 16, it says that Rebekah was very beautiful and was a virgin. This is Jesus' view of His Bride. All believers are beautiful to God. He gave us beauty in exchange for our ashes (Isaiah 61:3). We stand before God as a virgin no matter what our past was because of Jesus' righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). The next verse, it says that the servant ran to her, illustrating the Holy Spirit's excitement and zeal to help the Bride. In verse 22, Rebekah receives expensive gifts from the servant in return for her help. This is the evidence that we receive the grace of God, and the gifts and anointing of the Holy Spirit.

This next point is my favorite. The servant asks her if they have a place for him to stay. She says yes. When we say yes to the Holy Spirit, He will ask for more and more abandonment. The Spirit's call increases as we have more encounters with Him. First, Rebekah received gold (verse 22). Next, he asked to say at her house (verse 23). She ten receives more gold and silver (verse 53). Finally, he called her to come marry Isaac (verse 58). Will you invite the Spirit to your home? Or are you content to meet Him occasionally at "the well"?

Remember how the trip to Nahor was two weeks long? Yeah, Rebekah had to go through the desert, unknown territory before she got to her man. We, as believers have a long journey of unknown territory to go through before the end result. But it is so worth it.

Genesis 24:63,67

And Isaac went out t meditatein the fields toward evening. And helifted up his eyes and say the camls coing. Then Rebekah became his wife and he loved her.