Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!! Have you ever-desired love? A good love, a love like no other where the other person sees you, hears you and genuinely loves you. I use to desire this so badly I just wanted someone to love me the way I love passionately and deep. I’ve come to realize that no human being can really love me that way. We’ll talk more about this in a little bit.
While reading the bible this week, my heart broke so much for Leah. I’ve read this account a few times already but never saw how much despair Leah was in after marrying Jacob. If you’ve never read the account of Leah and Rachel, I’ll provide some background but suggest reading it for better insight Genesis 29:16 -30:22.
Jacob is Leah’s husband, their marriage began because her dad Laban tricked Jacob. Jacob thought he was marrying Leah’s sister Rachel which he worked 7 years for free to marry. Laban gave Leah to Jacob on their wedding day but Jacob did not notice until the next day that his bride was not Rachel. Laban’s reason for the trick was that it was not custom to marry off the younger daughter Rachel before the older Leah. In reality Laban wanted 7 more years of free work. Jacob eventually marries Rachel a little while later and agrees to work for Laban for 7 more years. Jacob loves Rachel but fulfills his obligation to Leah and cares for her too. “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb but Rachel was barren” [Genesis 29:31 NIV]. Leah gives birth and during that time women will name their children after what they were going through. Leah has 4 sons and more later on but it isn’t until the 4th son Judah that she praises God. The first three sons she hoped would grab the attention of her husband and make him love, see, hear and be attached to her.
Leah realized that God was the only one that truly saw her the entire time. God saw her pain, her pleas and petitions to Him. My heartbreaks for the unloved, so reading this was so heart breaking it reminds me of a daughter crying for her father or a wife with a husband that despises her and all they want is to be loved, respected and honored. I’m writing this to tell or remind anyone that they have a Father that loves them unconditionally. Before I was saved, I remember feeling so alone as if no one could love me the way I needed to be loved and walked around with a void in my heart.
This story is a perfect example that true loves only comes from one source. God is the only one capable to love us unconditionally the way we need it. The only way to get to him is to accept Jesus into your heart. Romans 10:9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The void in my heart started to fill for that moment and continues to fill more and more everyday.
Happy Valentine’s Day and stay encouraged that His love is one of kind and that real true love only comes from one source. Keep your head lifted!!
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