A Better Idea

Genesis 30:7-9

Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God, I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

Anything Rachel could do, Leah could do better. While Rachel claimed Bilhah’s sons as her own, Leah could do the same thing with her slave and have even more sons for Jacob. Rachel needed a son of her own to truly eliminate the void inside.

We must realize that if we can do something in our own strength, someone else can do it, too. To realize God’s true blessing upon our lives, we must allow Him to do the work. As hard as it seemed at the time, Rachel’s best move would have been to just accept her barrenness as God’s will for her at the time and trust Him to provide her heart’s desire. We can see these things only in retrospect at times for ourselves. Thankfully, God gave us examples in Scripture so we could learn from their mistakes.

Do you find yourself with an aching desire or need that you cannot fill? Submit to that void as God’s will for the time being. Trust Him to fill that desire in His timing, and don’t try to create a counterfeit substitution. God has a purpose for your “barrenness” or lack, and He will only bless what He produces from it. Give it to Him. In due time, He will move in your life in a way that clearly demonstrates His favor, and no one can deny His glory in the matter. He is for you and not against you, and He has a better idea.

Have a blessed day!