This Time I Will Praise the Lord

With mass murders and school shootings, we often see people who do terrible things because of low self-worth.  Social media is a good example of this.  People often say things that are outrageous simply to get a reaction. Sometimes people have a need for acceptance and this leads to extreme behavior.

The story of Rachel and Leah is found in Genesis 29:1-30. This is the story of Jacob coming to Laban’s family and falling in love with and asking to marry Rachel.  The custom of the time was that the eldest daughter married first and since Rachel was the younger she couldn’t marry before her sister Leah. (vs. 26)  Verse 31 says “the Lord saw that Leah was not loved.” Leah was given to a man who wanted her sister instead. Leah yearns for the love of her husband.  It’s reflected in the names of her first three sons, all capturing her loneliness.  Scripture gives us no indication that Jacob ever gave her the acceptance she craved.

With the birth of her fourth child, Leah turned to God instead of her husband. She named her fourth son Judah, which means “praise”. (vs. 35) Leah decided to find her self-worth in God.  She became part of God’s salvation story.  Judah was the ancestor of King David and later, Jesus.

We can find our self-worth and significance in many ways, but it is only in Jesus that we can find our identity as children of God.  It’s only in Jesus that we can dwell eternally with our heavenly Father.  Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8, nothing in this world compares with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ”.  May you find your self-worth and acceptance in this New Year by accepting Jesus.

Prayer:  Father, help me find my value in You and not in others.  It’s in You that I find my identity and life.  Amen.

Genesis 29:35 – She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.”

Author: Tommy Herndon