Read: Genesis 29:15-29
“So Jacob served seven years
for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had
for her.” Genesis 29:20 NKJV
In a world of sure
uncertainty and increasingly threatening peril right in my own backyard,
courage and peace often elude me. Although Paul promises these trials are
simply "light and momentary afflictions" (2 Corinthians 4:17), they
feel heavy and insurmountable to me while I am experiencing them. I try
focusing on eternal promises rather than on my current issue, but sometimes I
struggle to walk in hope.
According to Genesis
29:20, Jacob had more faith than I do. He was able to fix his attention on the
prize, rather than on the process.
He worked seven years to earn Rachel for his wife. Instead of focusing on the
time and labor ahead of him, he allowed their love to comfort him. The promise
of his true love gave Jacob the optimism and consolation, which he needed to
persist through the pain and burden of the years of hard labor. This made
fourteen years pass like days.
I love this verse. What an
amazing love story we have here with Jacob and Rachel. In the rest of the
Biblical account of their life together, and even after death, their love
persisted. Jacob preferred the children he fathered with Rachel to his children
by Leah and their concubines. His desolation at Joseph’s demise almost killed
him, but Benjamin came along to console him during his later years without his
beloved. Seeing Joseph again in Egypt brought him great comfort and joy. It
renewed his feeling of pure love, since Rachel died in childbirth with
Benjamin.
Jesus also gave us an example of how to endure tragedy, when He faced the prospect of his daunting death on Calvary’s Cross. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He wrestled with the horrific torture he would face that very night (Luke 22: 41-44). He eventually surrendered His will to His Father’s and focused on the glory set before Him in Heaven, rather than considering the coming pain of the process of His death. Once He did, God sent an angel to strengthen Him.
Today, God promises all
mankind the gift of a personal, eternal relationship with beloved Son. The love
Jesus has for each one of us rivals the love story between Rachel and Jacob. It
starts the moment we turn away from our sins and ask Him to save us. He moves
in by His Holy Spirit and resides within us, giving us heaven on earth. The
Spirit starts working in our lives – manifesting His fruit in our thoughts,
words and deeds (Galatians 5:22-23). His love makes it easier for us to lay
aside our fears, foibles and temptations and to look forward to His eternal
promises instead.
Prayer:
Lord,
thank you for loving us, even when our faith fails us. Help us to focus on the
joy that You set before us. Remind us that You have a higher purpose for all of
our days and that You work out even the negative things in our lives for our
good (Romans 8:28).
Thought
for The Day:
God
jealously wants you all to Himself. He longs to draw you into His loving embrace
and to live within you throughout your lifetime. 