Jacob grew up in a household where the parents played favorites: Isaac preferred his hunter son, Esau, and Rebekah preferred Jacob, who stayed close to home. Jacob did the same in his own household, preferring one son over the others because that son was born to his preferred wife.
That’s an odd statement, isn’t it? The truth is, Jacob had two wives because the man whose name means “deceiver” was tricked! Jacob fell in love with Rachel and made an agreement with her father so that he could marry her, but when the day came, he gave Jacob his other daughter, Leah, who was veiled until after the wedding. Jacob then worked another seven years to marry Rachel. (Imagine how Leah must have felt, knowing she was married only because her father was a liar, not because she was wanted!)
Look at what Leah named her sons: Reuben was named for her misery. Simeon was named because she was not loved. Levi was the hope that Jacob would love her, now that she’d given him three sons. Each one was named with an eye to her circumstance. But the next son, the fourth son, was named Judah; “This time I will praise the LORD.”
Nothing changed. She was still the unwanted sister. But she had moved her focus off of herself to the God who loved her. We can do the same. Our circumstances might not change, but neither does God’s love.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving me. Help me to look to you and love you no matter what my circumstances are. Amen