Genesis 30:1, “Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me a child, or else I die”
If at all I was to ask different people how they think of themselves, I will have a long list for sure. You may have something about that you don’t like. If God was to give you a chance to design who you would like to be, most likely you may have a completely different picture of the new you. Every time you look in the mirror, is there a part of you you wished you could change? Humans tend to concentrate more on what they don’t have or what someone else has that they forget to appreciate what they have. We at times feel that we have nothing to offer and even feel that there is nothing in our lives that other people can admire. We therefore belittle ourselves because of what we think of ourselves. Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works; and my soul knoweth right well”. You are skillfully, wonderfully and uniquely designed to fit in this world. You are not in this world by accident. The potter took time to make you in an image that no one else in the world is like you. There may be people who look and sound like you but there is absolutely no one like you. In other words, you have no competition; no one can beat you being you. The design on your thumb is unique no one in the world has the same design as yours. You are unique, with unique qualities, unique design.
We are told in Genesis about Rachel and Leah, blood sisters married to one man. Both women are from the same womb but are very different. They are unique in their looks, personalities, age etc. The husband appreciates each of them differently. I want us to understand that we can belong to God but be very different. The difference is what brings about our individuality and uniqueness that we ourselves can appreciate God for. Leah was the hated one, she was not as pretty as Rachel, she did not get all the attention she desired. On the other hand, she had been blessed with the fruit of the womb, she is was the oldest and that entitled her to get first service, she had children to attend to her and she was respected because of the fruits of her womb. When you talk about Rachel, she was the young one therefore she was served last, remember Jacob worked seven years for Rachel but ended up with Leah. Rachel had to wait 14 years before her dream was fulfilled. She had not been favored to have children and with that she was not getting the same respect as Leah did. She had no children to send, or call her own and be proud of. Looking at what she did not have, I see on the other hand she was beautiful and loved more than Leah, she was given the best gifts, she received the best attention from her husband and yet with all these she was not happy. I saw this with Hannah and Penninah. And because of what Rachel saw in Leah, she envied her, jealousy crept in and began to cripple her. I don’t know what to say but I think the same must have happened to Leah, for this reason she tried to have more children to try and cover up the pain of rejection inside of her.
You don’t have to agree with me on this but I would say that it is very hard to be happy for someone when you think that what they have should have been with you instead. I also believe that it is very hard to fully appreciate the good things in someone’s life when you don’t see what has been invested in you. Concentrating so much on what someone else has and neglecting to see what you have will always have a tendency of crippling you stealing contentment in your life. Rachel could have looked at the different areas that she had been favored and say something like this, “Even if I don’t have this and that, God has favored me in other areas where Leah lacks”.
What is my point?, look at how God designed you to know that you are unique and have no competition. As you might admire what someone else has, remember that they could be admiring what you have dismissed in your life. Understanding what you have will make you appreciate the gifting and the uniqueness in you that in turn someone else’s gifting and uniqueness will not be a threat to you but rather you will rejoice with them over the blessings from the Lord. Instead of envying them and being jealous, pray that God will bless them even more. As you bless them, ask the Lord to bless you too
Genesis 30:1, “…Give me a child, or else I die”. What a tragedy to look to someone to perfect you instead of going back to the One who made you. Rachel made a big mistake by thinking that it might have been Jacob’s fault that she wasn’t having children and this was Jacob’s response, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” only God can do what no man can do, He made us and He will fulfill His will in our lives as we trust Him and not looking to others. Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 