Finding Love in God

The Lord saw that Leah was not loved. Genesis chapter 29 verse 31.

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Finding Love in God was written by Karen Huang and read by Joyce Dinkins. Genesis chapter 29 verses 28 through 35. And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah.

And he worked for Laban another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He enabled her to conceive but Rachel remained childless. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Ruben for she said, it is because the Lord has seen my misery.

Surely my husband will love me now. She conceived again and when she gave birth to a son she said, because the Lord heard that I am not loved he gave me this one too. So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived and when she gave birth to a son she said, now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons. So he was named Levi. She conceived again and when she gave birth to a son she said, this time I will praise the Lord. So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

Finding Love in God written by Karen Huang. As a child when asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Ben would say, I want to be like Dave. Ben's older brother was athletic sociable and an honor student. Ben on the other hand says, I was clumsy in sports, timid and struggled with a learning disability. I'd always wanted a close relationship with Dave but he didn't.

He called me the boring one. Ben spent much of his life pursuing his older brother's love in vain. It was only when Ben became a follower of Jesus that he learned to rest in the love of his Savior instead. Leah the first wife of Jacob in the book of Genesis spent much of her life pursuing her husband's love. Jacob however remained devoted to Rachel but God saw Leah's plight and made up for the rejection in her life. He blessed her by allowing her to be a mother. A great honor in her culture at that time. Leah unseen and unheard by her husband was lovingly seen and heard by God. She gave birth to a daughter and six sons one of whom was Judah a forefather of Jesus himself. She said at his birth, this time I will praise the Lord.

Leah lived a long life in Canaan and was buried in a place of honor with Jacob's family. When we experience rejection let's find comfort in Leah's story. We can rest in the love of God who makes up for what we lack. Let's pray. Father thank you for seeing and hearing us when we feel rejected or unseen by others. Help us to rest in your unfailing love, trusting that you will provide and make up for what we lack. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.