Praising God through Difficult Times

Read Genesis 29.

Here is a story that even a Hollywood movie could not do it justice.  They would probably want to twist it into a comedy of sorts.  There is such love between Jacob and Rachel that Jacob offered seven years of his labor just for her.  Then, there is such deceit by Laban that one feels Jacob would have been justified in some retaliation.  But no, Jacob responded with an even greater commitment for Rachel.

How did this make Leah feel?  She was married but she was not her husband's choice.  She was an object of her father's swindle.  And, where was God in all this?

God saw exactly what had happened.  In fact, God blessed Leah in ways that had eternal value.  She bore four sons with Jacob.  Of the twelve sons of Jacob, later the twelve tribes of Israel, the four from Leah included:
Reuben, the oldest.  This was a very important position in that patriarchal culture.
Simeon, the second born.  Some have suggested from Genesis 34 that he had a violent nature.
Levi, whose descendants would become the priests of Israel.  Those would include Moses and Aaron.
Judah, the family line of King David and the Messiah!

Leah could not have dreamed the impact her sons would have on history and eternity.  It appears that she hoped these sons would earn her the respect and love of her husband and would somehow vindicate her predicament.  She named her fourth son Judah.  In Hebrew the name sounds like the word for praise.  Leah even declared, "This time I will praise the LORD."

Everyone experiences mistreatment in life at the hands of others.  The pain and hurt of rejection and not being loved for who you are cause some to believe that God does not see, does not care, or does not exist.  Yet, always God is at work, working His plan for each life, even using the wrath of men to praise Him (Psalm 76:10).  Even though Leah could not see the future, she praised the LORD by faith.

I remember Dr. Ken Poure teaching that our spiritual maturity is demonstrated in how long it takes us in difficult circumstances to come to a place of praising the LORD.