LEAH’S LONGING: IRONIES OF LIFE

“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” ~ Genesis 30:31

REFERENCE

Genesis 29:31-30:2

Humans are mostly needing beings, preoccupied with things they desire, and spend time praying about things they lack. Leah desperately wanted her husband’s affection; she longed to hear him say, “I love you,” and if it meant bearing several sons to get it, so be it. However, it was not on record that Jacob loved her. It seems the more sons she birthed; the more aloof Jacob was from her. She finally changed her motive and thanked God upon Judah’s birth.

In the main text, we see the irony of life unfold – life does not always follow a script. It is full of imbalances, and expectation and reality don’t always agree. While Leah was looking for love but was prolific in childbearing, Rachel was loved but had no child (could not). A song we sang when I was in primary school said, “Some have food but cannot eat; some can eat but have no food…” and a Yoruba adage says, “The man with a head does not have a hat and the one that has a hat has no head.” These sayings describe how life is full of ironies (paradoxes).

Leah had four children back-to-back, yet desperately wanted love, but the text says that Rachel envied her because she could not have children. What Leah took for granted, Rachel would do anything to have; in fact, she demanded of her husband, “Give me children, or else I die!” We unconsciously forget God’s goodness in our lives and complain about things we feel God has not done. That is the reason more people are on prayer lines than there are on testimony lines.

I know your bank balance is not what you want, but some people envy your status in life. You may not have a child yet, but many would love to be married like you. You thought you should have your own house by now, but many envy you because they can’t pay rent. You wish your parents bought you a car, but you are in a prestigious school in a foreign country. You may not know it, but many people would do anything to be where you are. People find you enviable to have a job, good health, a roof over your head, an income, good food to eat, a spouse, happy children, your parents are alive, etc. You are indeed blessed.

Leah would have said, “If only I had my sister’s beauty,” and Rachel would have said, “If only I had sons like my sister.” In the saddest lives, there are glints of sunshine, and in the happiest lives, there are clouds of gloom. Stop looking at others in life; thank God for His grace upon you.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS

I Corinthians 4:7, I Peter 2:1-3 & I Samuel 18:7-9

PRAYER POINTS

• Father, cure me of every form of envy and of comparing myself with others.
• Teach me to be mindful of Your goodness in my life and to be grateful for it.
• Today, I pause and count my blessings and name them one by one. Thank You, Father God.