Day 218: Leah's Perspective

Genesis 29:16-35

Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.  Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”  So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.  (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”

“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied.  “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.” Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”  Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.

Many of us know this story and have heard this story before. We usually talk about Jacob’s willingness to work for Rachel and Rachel’s beauty. We pass Leah off as “the ugly sister”. Rarely do we look at this story from Leah’s perspective, so that’s what we are going to do today. Many of us read this story and we like to think that we are Rachel, but the truth is many of us are Leah. We know what’s it’s like to feel unloved, and we know what it’s like to want someone to love us. Many of us know what it’s like to chase love and do things that will make people love us. I think though many of us have characteristics of Rachel we relate to Leah. Leah has always been overlooked in favor of her younger sister, she was unloved.

Let’s break this down for a minute, her father tricked someone into marrying her. It’s almost like he knew that was the only way someone would marry her. It seems as if he was trying to get her off his hands. Jacob unknowingly sleeps with her. The very next morning he is in a rage because the woman he slept with was not Rachel. It was Leah. ouch! Jacob never looked at her as a wife, never loved her as a wife, or acknowledged her as a wife. Then Laban tells Him, wait until the bridal week is over, then you can have Rachel but you still have to work seven more years for her. Can you imagine how Leah must have felt, how heartbroken and unwanted she felt and was. First her father and then her husband. That must have hurt. Can you relate? I can relate, I grew up being brutally bullied, and one of the things that stuck with me for so many years was being told I was ugly, not just by the girls but the boys too. Also being told that I was the ugly twin. So I can relate to Leah, I know what it’s like, to feel unwanted. They said part is, too many of  us know what this feeling is like.

The story goes on to say that God saw that Leah was unloved. When we think we’re invisible, God sees us. When we think no one loves us God loves us. That’s the beauty of this story, God saw Leah. He did not look at her through the eyes of man, or the way that men have looked at her. In God’s eyes, she was just as beautiful as Rachel, He loved her the same as He did Rachel.

Leah began to look for love in all the wrong places. She thinks that by having a child Jacob would love her. She has three sons and we hear nothing from Jacob, When she has her last son, as pointed out by the website “Today’s Christian”, she decides to praise the Lord, not try to get Jacob to love her, I think this was the moment she decided that God’s love was enough. She had been looking for Jacob to love her for years, and probably her father as well, then she realized that the man who truly loved her was God. And He gave her four sons that would love her unconditionally.

All this to say, God sees you, and He loves you. Don’t look for love in all the wrong places. Even when you feel unwanted or unloved, know that God wants you and He loves you so much. More than you will ever know.

Reflection

1. Can you relate to Leah?
2. Where have you searched for love?

Prayer Time

Allow you answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about feeling like LEah, and pray for those who feel like this everyday. If you still feel like this, know that you are loved in the same way that Leah was loved. You are not forgotten and you are not unwanted.

I love you. I really do and I want you to have a magnificent day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 219!

Day 119: The New Generation

Numbers 32:11-12

‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

We are considered the Joshua generation. I’m not sure how many of you have heard this saying before but it seems to be a theme with Pastor’s, when they start talking about our generation specifically. . Being in church around the age of sixteen, when the pastor would talk about our generation they would always say that we are the Joshua or Caleb generation. I didn’t really know what that meant until I opened up my bible and found out.  It is just a biblical way of saying we are the new or next generation to complete the task. To receive the promise and lead our people into the promised land (no pressure). We are the ones who will inherit the blessings of our fathers and do what they could not do.

What’s crazy about the scripture above is that when you think about it, almost everyone who entered the desert died there. They never got to see the promised land, except for Joshua and Caleb. Not even Moses was allowed to enter the Promised Land.

The wilderness generation

The Joshua generation was built differently, they are  different people than the ones who left Egypt, this generation was born in the wilderness, they were born in the desert, this was all they knew. They were born into the rough times, they know what it is truly like to wander around in the desert all your life, because they have been doing it since the day they were born. Seeing that they viewed the desert as home, this is all they have know their entire life. They are the wild children, literally born in the wilderness.

They fought for the Promise

They did not just stroll across the river and enter into the promised land, they had to conquer and claim. They had to build an army and fight for the land God had promised them. They had to strategize and plan, they had to fight for what was already theirs. This land was promised to them long before they were even born. This land was promised to Abraham and his descendants (And we are all descendants of Abraham) God built up a people who were willing to fight and take what is there’s.

They Appreciate the generation before them,

Joshua and Caleb did not takeover and act like everything they ever did they did alone. If they had said that it would have been a blatant lie. They picked up the baton and finished the race, they are the ones completing what their fathers, forefathers, ancestors started. If it had not been for Moses, Aaron and the generation before them they would not be in the position they were in. It was their fathers that had to be led out of Egypt in order for them to enter into the Promised Land. Now they may have held themselves up by constantly disobeying and grumbling against God, He used it for His glory. Through them God raised up and entirely new generation.

We are that generation, we are the generation picking up the baton’s and finishing the race. We were born in a crazy era, and we are here to fight for the promise.

Reflection

Today I gave a lot of context and not much opinion, and that was on purpose. I want you to respond, go through and read the stories. How do you feel about being compared to Joshua and Caleb generation? Do you think this generation is up for the task? Take what was talked about today and put in modern times. Do we have a task to complete?

Overall how do you relate to the text?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about this current generation, pray for our generation and ask God for guidance and direction for yourself but also for our peers.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Share this with someone, start a discussion, and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 120!  

Day 55: Toxic Waste

As we grow up one of the thing we start to learn how to do is be responsible and take care of ourselves. At one point of that growing up process we will realize that taking care of ourselves is more than just paying bills, putting food on our table, and providing for ourselves. It is so much more than being independent. In our twenties we are going through so many changes, our mindsets change, our bodies start to change, a lot of things go through changes. We have to make sure we stop and take care of ourselves, weed out anything that is harming us and be happy people. We know how to pay bills and work, today we are going to explore what it means to focus on ourselves for a bit and taking out the toxic waste in our life. The things that are poisoning us,: spiritually, emotionally and/or mentally, and physically.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things

We must learn to focus on the positive things. It’s so easy to focus on everything going wrong and sometimes it seems to outweigh the good. But trust me when I say that there is always something to thank God for. We cannot dwell on the things that are screwed up about life, or we will fall into a black hole of sadness, or depression. Life is better than what we perceive it to be sometimes. We  just have to realize that we are not our issues, we are not our struggles, we are not our bad days, we are not our depression. We are children of God, we must set our mind on the things above and trust that God is bigger than the fears, and anxieties. He is greater than it all.

It starts with us

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

A lot of times when we think about detoxing our lives and getting rid of all the things that are not good for us, we start outside of ourselves. We start eliminating people and things out of our lives that are surface issues, not realizing that it is so much deeper. Did we ever think that maybe we’re the problem? We’re the ones wreaking havoc on our own lives. We have to start with ourselves and work from the inside out, or things will never change. We must realize the flaws within ourselves first. A lot of times we are harboring things in our hearts, holding onto pain. hidden sin, unforgiveness. This is toxic to our spiritual health.  We cannot have a real relationship with God if we are harboring all this baggage that keeps us from getting close to Him. Whatever it is we must let it go. Holding on to all this is not doing anything but hurting us, poisoning our spirit. The more we hold on  the worse it gets.

We must take care of our spiritual body as well, if not more, as we take care of our physical body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

Do you think God will dwell in a place that is unclean? If our temple is cluttered with everything that is not of God, and our own mess, is there any room for the true living God? In order to live a righteous life, we must focus on our spiritual wellness and take care of our soul. We must feed it so that it will grow.  Our spirits thrive off of prayer and scripture.

Prayer is essential to having a relationship with God. It is our direct line to Him. prayer is how we communicate with our Heavenly father. We have no relationship without communication. The same way we put in work to make our earthly relationships work is the same amount of time and effort we should be putting in when it comes to our relationship with God.

One the other hand, God gave us this physical body and we must take care of it. A lot of times I feel like many Christians are under the impression that taking care of ourselves physically, i.e. working out and eating healthy is not necessary, because it isn’t about the looks. Taking care of our body isn’t about having a nice six pack or looking good and having glowing skin (Daniel 1:12-15), that’s just a perk(It is okay for Christians to be attractive). It is about taking care of this vessel God has blessed us with and not abusing it. He has given us this body to live in and we only get one so we better take care of it.  

Sometimes we just have to let go

John 8:32

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free

We will come to times in our live when we will realize that the situation we are in is hazardous to our spiritual, mental, and emotional health. We will realize that certain people are not good for us. We will need to remove ourselves from the situation if we want to continue to grow in our spiritual lives, and life in general. Our eyes have been opened and God has revealed the truth, now what are we going to do with it? This is the hard part, letting go of the things that we love, even though we know they are not good for us. This can be anything from friends to relationships or bad habits. We tend to hold on to the things in which we are emotionally invested, even if it’s tearing our souls apart. Once we know the truth it’s very hard to ignore, so what will we do with it?

Once we get ourselves in line with God and get rid of all the things within us that is poisoning our spirits; we will no longer stand for anything or anyone else outside of us causing us harm.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Take the time to reflect on what was talked about today. Which subject spoke to you the most? Respond to God, talk to Him about what resonated with you. And ask Him to remove the toxic waste out of your life. Talk to Him especially about the things you struggle with in secret, confess to HIm all those hidden sins, knowing that He will not judge you. Be an open book with God today, allow him to remove any and everything that is stopping you from growing in you faith.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 56!

Day 48: Parent Appreciation Day

Proverbs 23:22-25

Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it;buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.Let your father and mother be glad;let her who bore you rejoice.

If you grew up with strict parents, respect was taught to us at a young age, it was ingrained in us. We were told to respect our parents, our elders, and our peers.

If you grew up with parents who knew anything about scripture, you heard at one point or another, Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and mother so that your days may be longer on earth.” and if you had a smart mouth like my sister, at one point your response to this statement was the beginning of Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers provoke your child not to wrath.” every time the pastor talked about disobedient and rude kids your mother broke her neck to look at you. We love our parents, but sometimes we don’t always like our parents. I’m just being honest. Sometimes we aren’t as respectful as we should be. Sometimes we forget that no matter how old we are, we will always be our parents’ child. Sometimes we just forget to appreciate our parents.

Countless times throughout the entire bible we are told to honor our parents, to listen to their wise counsel, not to disgrace our father's house, but to listen honor, and obey.

Colossians 3:20

Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

God personally chose our parents, he did not just pick two random people to take care of us, God gave us the people in our lives that would raise us right, that would teach us and show us how to live an abundant life. These are not always the people who created and gave birth to us. No, our parents aren’t perfect but neither are we, they are doing the job God has given them, being our parent.

At some point we lost that innocent unconditional love we had for our parents. Not that we don’t love them, but we’ve lost that shine we had when we were kids. When they were our heroes, and we leaned on them for everything. When all we wanted was to make our parents proud. There was a time when we wanted nothing more than to spend time with our parents. As we got a little older that dependency started to fade, and we started to need them less. Sometimes as our dependency fades our respect fades. We started going through changes, and our minds started to mature and we got to a point where we ‘no longer needed’ our parents. They raised us and brought us up right, yet when we got older we went against it. We have all gone through a time of declaring our independence and feeling like we don’t need to listen to our parents anymore.  Yes, we love our parents but how often do we tell them? We appreciate them but do they know it? Our parents love us so much, more than we could ever imagine, no matter how upset they are with us, or how much we fight with them, their love doesn’t fade. It is important that we understand how much our parents just want what is best for us. Sometimes we don’t listen because we think we know it all, and sometimes our parents are wrong. But for the many times they’re not, we have to learn to accept their wisdom, learn from them, because one day we’re going to wake up and and all of sudden we’re a parent and we will understand all of the things our parents told us when we were younger.

I don’t think we understand how happy it makes our parents when we just call to say, “i love you, or i appreciate you.” They want nothing more than for us to be happy, and as we get older we will start to recall the teachings of our parents. We will start to appreciate all the things we didn’t like when we were younger I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in conversations and caught myself saying; ‘Well my mom always said…” or “My dad taught me this..” And it is a great feeling to just sit a realize, my parents were right. To realize that even at my worst moments my parents had my best interest at heart. That even when I didn't want to listen their consistency, and strict parenting made me the person I am. It was always so that I could be a better person. Parents are the most selfless people in the world. They put their children ahead of them everyday. I thank God for my parents, even though my father is no longer with us.

Some of us don’t have our parents with us anymore, and I understand that. I lost my dad when I was eighteen, but everything he taught me up until the day he died is ingrained in me. I can find comfort in knowing that even though I didn’t have him as long as I would have liked, God allowed him to raise me and show me a way that was right. He gave me a father who would teach me how to love, and be loved, how would teach me about life, and the little things that matter the most. So when God called Him home, yes it shattered me but His wisdom and what he taught me while he was here will forever be ingrained on my heart.

-Dyamond

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Many times when we get older we break our parents hearts by straying away from their teachings. We go against the grain, and act as if we forget what they taught us,  But it is the prayers of our parents and our grandparents and our forefathers that keep us going. We might stray but we will never depart, we will always find a way back home. That wise counsel, and those morals that have been taught to us will bring us back every time. It is because god gave us parents who would pray for us and love us even when we screw up, even when we break their hearts. They are always waiting with open arms to forgive and accept us. Just like When the prodigal son returned home.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Take the time to just think about all the things your parents, guardians, and/or parental figures has done for you. Thank God for them, thank God for putting them in your life. And pray for your parents, or the people you consider or call your parents. When all is done, call you parents today and tell them you love them, send a card, write a letter. Do something to show your parents that you appreciate them. We don't have to wait until Mother's or Father's Day for our parents to know how much we love and appreciate them.

This might be hard for those of us who have lost parents, but thank God for the time you had with them. Remember the good things about them, and how they helped mold and shape you into the person you are today. I love you.

Have an awesome day or evening. I love you so much. MAke sure you come back tomorrow for day 49!