Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12
Pray: Pray for revelation, not just information. Your story can be found within today’s reading in some capacity. We all need some kind of healing, and we all struggle with significance. We want our lives to matter. Jacob has a dream which is really God’s dream for him but a greater dream for humanity. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, will be the father of many nations and from him will come the 12 tribes, and from one of these tribes the Messiah would come.
Read: Here are personal stories of romance, family feuds, and Jesus’ passion for the lost to know there is a Gospel of Good News. Jesus heals and brings hope to persons who are struggling. What is God saying to you today?
Edify: We all seek significance and meaning. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. The story of Jacob and Rachel is one of the great love stories of the Bible, while the story of Leah is very sad in so many ways. What person has not felt some rejection or displacement among her or his peers at some time? Leah is heartbroken that her husband will not find favor in her though she has given him three sons. Notice in verse 35 of Genesis 29 “She named him Judah, for she said, ‘Now I will praise the Lord!’ And then she stopped having children.” Leah had tried to please her husband by giving him sons, but his love for Rachel was greater than his compassion for Leah. Jacob is not her God. So Leah teaches us a valuable life lesson, “Praise and worship the Lord God above all else.” When Leah praised the Lord and put God above Jacob she gave birth to another son whose name is Judah. From the line of Judah comes King David, and Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Practice: Seeking significance is a natural and innate desire of most people. Why? God put us here to live into our purpose. When we are living into God’s purpose for our lives, then our lives are more fulfilled. Jacob’s life was not to be lived for his own purposes—God was bringing forth a people who would worship Him and from Jacob and Judah would come the Messiah to bring salvation to the entire world. Likewise, Jesus tells us in Matthew’s Gospel that there is a harvest and the workers are few. You and I will never experience greater meaning and purpose than when we partner with God to help people find their way home to salvation in Jesus Christ. We don’t want people we care for to have a Christ-less eternity. Every follower of Christ needs to be conscious to invite persons to worship regularly and to pray for the unchurched we know. Who is on your list?
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