Seek Your Worth in Christ
Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel… Genesis 29:16-18 NIV
Think about what it’d be like to constantly try to gain acceptance from someone else. You try as hard as you possibly can to measure up and be good enough—but no matter what you do, you just can’t meet their expectations.
Because it was normal during the time in which Leah lived, both she and her sister Rachel were married to a man named Jacob. Even though he was committed to both of them, Jacob loved Rachel more—and Leah was very aware of it.
God saw that Leah was unloved by her husband, so He blessed her with many children (which, in her culture, would have elevated her). But instead of focusing on the fact that the Lord saw her value and blessed her, Leah continued to place all of her worth in what her husband thought of her. We see this reflected in the way she named her sons.
Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.” Genesis 29:32 CSB
With each child, Leah hoped Jacob would finally love her. But despite her efforts, he never gave her what she wanted.
Sometimes, it’s easy to allow things like a significant other, children, job, or social status define our worth. But finding our true value in what other people think of us is not possible—we’ll never feel satisfied. The only way we can find true satisfaction is when we let God’s view of us define our worth.
We see Leah discover this when she names her final child—she finally begins to see how much the Lord values her, and this time, she chooses to praise Him for it.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Genesis 29:35 ESV
If we continue to place our value in the acceptance or love of others, we’ll never find the joy the Lord wants for us. Only He can truly fill our hearts and bring us the validation we need.
Instead of focusing on things around us that are out of our control, let’s choose to focus on God—because only He can help us find the sense of worth we need.
Pray:
- Ask God to help you see how much He truly values you.
- Tell Him what you want to surrender.
- Praise Him for the good things He has given you.
Adapted from https://my.bible.com/moments
