Learning the Sufficiency of God’s Grace

“…This time I will praise the Lord…”(Genesis 29:35 N.I.V)

Leah’s yearning to be loved by her husband is reflected in the names she gave her first three sons. She named her first born Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” She named her second son Simon and said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” The third son gave her fresh hope and she named him Levi and said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Well he did not, and she must have realized that God had indeed been faithful to her in many other ways including the blessing of children so when she got another she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. She learned that we should look to the Lord for affirmation and purpose and not children and husbands.

Just like Leah we want to find a place in life where we are accepted, loved and appreciated despite all our imperfections. Sometimes we may never find that place. People may fail us because of their own issues. Jacob loved Rachel and his marriage to Leah arose out of her father Laban’s deception. But no matter how unhappy our circumstances are, we should never allow them to frustrate us so much that we are unable to see the grace of the Lord in our lives. We should not turn our desires into our gods. We must strive for the fulfillment that comes from knowing God. “No matter what problems life may bring , I’ll lift my voice and say, Hallelujah anyhow”.

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"The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy rather it tries to make us great enough for life". Pastor Lindell Ballenger

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