The rich, beautiful and the handsome do receive a lot of recognition and respect in the society. In this world, where outward looks and wealth really matter, the rich and the good looking, often seem to have, bigger than life personae. They at times even enjoy special privileges and easily get away with things that other poor and ordinary people can’t. But to the contrary, God stands with the ordinary and poor. Our thought for reflection this Monday morning is, “Our God Reaches Out to the Unloved And Despised.”
“When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb, but Rachael was barren. Leah became pregnant and have birth to a son”
(Genesis 29:31-32)
Genesis 29: 7 says, "Leah had weak eyes but Rachael was lovely in form and beautiful." Verse 8 says, "Jacob was in love with Rachael." Because of her good looks Jacob was attracted towards Rachael and he was willing to work first for seven years and later another seven years without salary in order to marry her. Jacob loved Rachael more than Leah (Genesis 29:30). See how God reached out to Leah, the despised one.
1. God saw her misery.
Marrying Jacob was not Leah's original plan. It was part of the deceptive trick of her father Laban to marry off first his elder daughter Leah before the younger daughter Rachael (Genesis 29:26). But at the end we find Leah becoming a victim in the deal between Laban and Jacob. When Leah was unloved by Jacob, we can imagine how much she would have been hurt. No-one saw her grieving heart but God. Are we feeling unloved, abused, misunderstood and despised by those around us?
2. God showed favour to her.
The Bible says that God opened Leah's womb. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben for she said,
“It is because the Lord has seen my misery”
(Genesis 29:32)
This reveals that God saw Leah's predicament and showed special favour to her. This also indicates that God is caring and loving to the unloved or despised. Thus, when we are unloved and despised by others, will not the same God love us too?
Probably some of us are going through the same experiences that Leah went through. Are we victims of circumstances? Are we feeling unloved, despised and rejected? Let's pray:
“Dear Lord, we come before your throne of grace as we are. You alone know how we feel hurt when we are despised and rejected by those around us. We know that just as you involved on behalf of Leah and showed grace to her, you would be merciful to us too. We know that you love us, understand our hurts and will reach out to us. Trusting in you and in your character to reach out to the unloved and despised, I begin this day and this new week. In Jesus' name,... Amen”