Verse
of the day: Genesis 30:1-2 Now
when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and
said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” 2 And Jacob’s anger
was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the
fruit of the womb?”
Do we put
others in the place of God in our lives? Do we put our spouse, children,
friends, anyone/thing else on the throne of our lives where Jesus belongs? We
do not often think about this, but anything that we rely on, or put
unreasonable expectations on, is who/what we worship. When we expect others to
fulfill something in our lives that only God can fulfill, we set ourselves up, and
those we are looking to, for failure and misery. Rachel, in seeing that she had
not yet been able to bore Jacob any children, became envious, and demanded of
Jacob something that was beyond his control, and which was impossible for him
to deliver. In relationships, if we, as born again believers, look to someone
other than God for satisfaction, joy, peace, or happiness in general, we will
be sadly disappointed, and will put ourselves on the road to destroying a
relationship that would otherwise be fruitful, if we put our dependence where
it should be. God has made it very clear that He is the One who is in control
of all things, and there is much that is impossible with man, that is only
possible with God (Luke 18:27). Salvation is impossible for man to attain; yet,
with God we can have eternal life in Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Our ability
to build a family by having children is only within God’s power to decide.
However, we never think of that, and just take for granted that we have control
over that. The Scripture is very clear, and we have many examples of how God is
the One who opens and closes the womb; even when Rachel was finally able to
conceive, it was the Lord who opened her womb (Genesis 30:22). Jacob’s reaction
to Rachel was justifiable, as it was beyond him to be able to give her what she
wanted. As a matter of fact, his answer to her was right on target, as he
immediate acknowledged that this was something that only God could fulfill in
their lives. May I caution each of us right now? Please be careful about how we
communicate with each other when we become angry with each other. The verse
tells us that Jacob became angry, but it does not say that he communicated it
in a mean-spirited fashion. God tells us that we can be angry, but sin not
(Ephesians 4:26). There are times when we must lovingly rebuke those in our lives
that put unreasonable expectations on us that can only be fulfilled by God.
When we speak this truth, we must do it in love (Ephesians 4:15). Sadly, there
are too many Christian marriages that end in divorce because one or both of the
spouses put expectations on the other that belong to the Lord. In any
relationship, as Christians, we must find complete satisfaction, and
fulfillment, in Jesus. Too often, we go into relationships thinking, and
expecting, the other person to be our source of joy, and happiness; rather than
seeking to be the one who brings something into the relationship. When we
depend on another human being, we are depending on someone who is also a
sinner, and who is also imperfect, and will eventually do something that will
fall short of our expectations. As born again believers, we are ALL sinners
saved by grace. Psalm 55:22 tells us to cast our burden upon the Lord, and He
shall sustain us. Rachel, in her desperation and envy, looked to Jacob, when
she should have turned to the Lord. Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel,
took a completely different approach when she desired children. She did not
turn to her husband, but prayed that God would give her a child (1 Samuel 1:9-28).
The end result for those these women was that Rachel had 2 children, but died
giving birth to her second. Hannah, gave birth to Samuel, gave him to the Lord,
and He blessed her with three sons and two daughters besides Samuel (1 Samuel
2:21). The bottom line for us is that we should never seek from man what only
God can satisfy and fulfill in our lives. Psalm 118:8 tells us that it is
better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
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