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Rachel is shepherding the sheep towards the well when she sees a stranger among the other shepherds. He looks in her direction with a mixed expression of excitement and relief. She watches as he quickly removes the stone from the well in order to water her sheep and then he runs towards her. He presents himself as her father’s nephew. A relative! Rachel gladly runs to her father’s home and retells the recent events. She then leads Laban back to the well to meet his sister’s son, Jacob. It was quite the scene. A splendid family reunion. Laban invites Jacob back to his home.

I imagine Rachel continues about her business as usual. Maybe she noticed Jacob’s attentions towards her. He might have stolen secret looks at her while working on Laban’s land. A month after his arrival Rachel’s father asks Jacob how he could repay him for working for him. I’m sure Rachel beamed with joy when Jacob asks for her hand in marriage in exchange for seven years of service.

How patient Rachel must have been as she waited for Jacob to complete his service to her father. My favorite verse in this story is verse  20“So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.”

Finally, the day comes when Jacob’s seven years of service are complete. I can’t imagine Rachel’s excitement. Butterflies must have taken flight within her as she knew that she would be wed to the man who loved her and was willing to work so long in order to gain her.

Ladies, the right man for you should be willing to wait. Seven years or as long as it takes. If he can’t wait for marriage to get the goods then he is no good!
I truly believe that when it’s God ordained the time will fly and like for Jacob years will feel like days.

Sadly, in vesre 23 we see that Laban had other plans. He plays a trick on both Rachel and Jacob. 23  “But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob,”

How absolutely devastating. A day that was supposed to be all sunshine had a heavy dark cloud over it. What a rift this deception must have created between Rachel and her sister. Rachel must have felt extremely betrayed. I wonder if she blamed Leah for not having already been married.

At this point in the story the idea that sometimes we have exactly what/who we want directly in front of us but out of our reach comes to mind.

Have you ever been in this situation? How did you deal with it?

I must say that it’s not an easy one. I can’t even begin to think that I have the right answer to that question.

The best I could come up with is to seek God’s guidance. Definitely let’s not make emotional decisions because those never end well.  Also, let’s not force things to happen if it’s clearly the wrong time. A friend once told me, “The right guy at the wrong time is just as bad as the wrong guy at any time.”

Rachel doesn’t completely lose Jacob. On the contrary, Jacob commits to work an additional seven years to marry Rachel.
They are wed but I can’t tell you that this was a happily ever after ending. Verse 30 says something crucial to the story, “and his [Jacob’s] love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah”
Rachel ends up having to share her husband and who wants that?!

Next week I want to take a look at Leah and her side of the story.

Today’s takeaway: 
1. Don’t wait around for life to happen but work. 
2. Live and enjoy where you are because that’s exactly where God needs you to be.

My Prayer for you:
Heavenly Father, you know how strained we feel sometimes. Sometimes our lives feel boring, insignificant or even mediocre. I ask you to please remind us that our seasons in life are not in vain. I ask you to transform our hearts that we may live with grateful hearts. Help us to enjoy our walks and rejoice in them regardless of the difficulty level. We trust that you are working behind the scenes. Help us to be patient as we wait for whatever we are praying for. Also give us wisdom that we may not become desperate and make permanent decisions on fleeting emotions. Thank you for your constant grace and protection. Please comfort those hearts that are hurting. Your word declares that you came to bind up the brokenhearted. Please let lose your healing over those who feel broken and damaged. Thank you, Jesus for hearing our prayers. It’s in your name that we pray, Amen!

Memory Verse: Psalm 37:5
Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

I tried more of a storytelling approach today. Did you like it? Leave a comment, click like, or share this post! I would love to connect with you!