Judah

I've been reading through the story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel in the last couple of days, so my thoughts today come from this story.

With her first three sons, Leah's focus was on her relationship with Jacob. The names of each son reflected her desire to be recognized, loved by, and attached to her husband. On the fourth son, however, Leah turned her eyes heavenward. When her fourth son was born, Leah said, "This time, I will praise the LORD." She named him Judah, and then she stopped bearing children. God has used her praise to give birth to the next in the line of the Messiah.

But what did it look like to Leah? Was she relieved to take a break from bearing children, or did she link her value to giving birth to more babies, as many women of the past have? Could she have seen this as a curse or a punishment?

How often in our own lives does this scenario play out: We do something really good and find our hope, peace, and contentment in Christ. But as soon as we do this, something "bad" happens, and we totally lose sight of our momentary victory! Looking back now, we can see the beauty and simplicity of Leah's situation. She put her heart in the right place and God blessed her for it. But I wonder if at the time she was thinking something like, "OK, God, I finally decide to praise you in the midst of my pain, and my circumstances just get worse! What am I doing wrong here? Why are you so hard to figure out?" As frustrating as it is, it seems God chooses all too often not to reveal many of the specifics to us until much, much later.

I guess the key point would be that when we choose to praise God, He will bless it, but we must remember that blessings come in all shapes and sizes. And often, the biggest and best blessings are the ones we can't see on this side of eternity.