Rachel vs. Leah Faith

"Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, 'I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.'" -Genesis 29:18

Do you have a dream?  You might be at a stage in your life where you want to do something great with your life, but not sure what.  Or, you may now exactly what you want but no idea how to get there. There may be a few of you that know exactly what you want, and are taking the steps to get there.  You may have already accomplished some of the dreams and goals God has put in your heart. Whatever the case may be, you have probably encountered “Leah” faith at some time in your life.

Leah was the eldest daughter of Laban, in the Bible. Jacob saw Leah’s sister Rachel and fell in love with her immediately.  But he was tricked by Laban into marrying Leah.  The Bible says Leah had “weak eyes” while Rachel was beautiful.  Fourteen total years had to pass before Jacob could get what he really wanted, Rachel.  

Isn’t that sometimes the case with us? Leah represents the things that we don’t want to do, in order to get to the things that we really want to do in life. We don’t want to put up with Leah, but sometimes we have to.  But Jacob knew what he wanted.  He wanted Rachel.  In his eyes, Rachel was worth 14 years of labor and 7 years of putting up with what he really didn’t want, in order to get his bride, the one he loved and really wanted.

Do you have faith enough to make it to your “Rachel” dream?  I pray each of us have the strength not to settle for “Leah” so that God can birth the beautiful, passion-filled dreams in our lives.

Crazy for God

"Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful." -1 Corinthians 1:27

Have you ever felt God tell you to do something unusual? Have you ever heard God speak on something that would happen, but what was spoken has not yet materialized? This somewhat uncomfortable situation happened to many leaders in the Bible; such as Joseph, Abraham, Noah, Joshua, Gideon, and Jesus.

Abraham and Sarah were promised a son- but were very old. Sarah was so old, she even laughed at the idea! (Genesis 18:12) Joseph was thrown into a pit after his dream, long before his dream would ever come to fruition. Joshua walked around Jerico 7 times...I'm sure the sixth time his men wondered what in the world was wrong with him, and Jesus couldn't do miracles in His hometown because there wasn't any faith. (Mark 6:1-6) Gideon had an identity crisis. "How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest, and I am the least!" (Judges 6:15) And when Noah was instructed to build an ark because "a storm was coming that would wipe out the entire earth" (Gen 6:13) we can only imagine what his neighbors must've thought.

Often times there is a big chasm between our reality and the things we are believing God for, but it doesn't mean we should waiver in our belief that it can and will happen. The reality is, if we cling to God, the dreams and the purpose He's given us will materialize, just as they did for Abraham, Joseph, Joshua, Noah, Gideon and Jesus.

Is there a big chasm between your reality and what you're believing God for? Keep believing for His promises to come true. God can work when we work out of obedience and believe.