God Always Compensates
"When the
LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but
Rachel was barren." (Gen 29:31-32)
Jacob was in love with Rachel. He worked a total of 14 years
just for the privilege of having her as his wife. But on the
night of their wedding, Rachel's father tricked him! He gave
Jacob Rachel's older sister instead, and Jacob didn't
realize the mistake until the next morning when the marriage
was already consummated! Jacob was furious (wouldn't you
be???), and though he eventually married Rachel, the evil
deed could not be "undone"!
Let's put ourselves in Rachel's shoes for a moment. She
really had it made, didn't she? How loved she must have
felt, for her husband was willing to work a total of 14
years just for the privilege of marrying her! She had what
her sister wanted the most: Her husband's love. But it
wasn't enough. She wanted what she couldn't have. The
Bible records that she cried out to Jacob: Gen 30:1 "Give
me children, or I'll die!"
What about her older sister, Leah? The girl with the "weak
eyes"? The unloved one who had to resort to trickery in
order to be married? How she must have hoped that somehow
she would be "good enough" for Jacob, that somehow, in the
space of that one night, she could make Jacob love her! And
how hurt she must have been to hear Jacob cry out to her
father: "What is this you have done to me? I served you
for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?" (Gen
29:25).
Did Jacob feel
Leah's pain? It would seem unlikely that he did, for
the Bible records that "Leah was not loved" (Gen.
29:31). But God was not oblivious to her
disappointment. God saw her tears. He felt her pain. He
loved Leah, even when Jacob didn't. And He gave her
something in compensation, something that all women of that
era longed to have: God gave Leah sons. And not just 1
or 2, but a total of 6, along with one daughter. And all
this time, Rachel, the "loved one", was barren.
Have you ever desired something with all your heart? Perhaps
you have prayed earnestly about it, but nothing seems to be
changing? Sometimes it is so easy to focus on what
doesn't seem to be changing that it becomes impossible to
recognize what God IS doing for you! Remember that just as
God saw that Leah was unloved and he gave her a total of 7
children in compensation, God also looks down and sees the
things that make us unhappy. He hears our pain, even when
humans do not. If we, like Leah, give the problem to Him, He
will compensate us 7 times over as well!
So when you feel like there is something in your life that
is beyond your reach, and even after praying about it, you
still don't feel like it is any closer to your grasp,
remember Leah and begin looking around for ways that the
Lord has repaid!
Father God, I praise You that you see may pain, and even
though I may not get the thing I think I desire the most,
you repay me 7-fold! Help me, Lord to not become so focused
on what I think I am missing that I fail to see the 7+
blessings you pour out upon me instead!
"When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her
womb . . ." (Gen. 29:31)
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,