By Dr. Ramsee Mumba
Genesis 29:31-34 – When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”
Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore, she called his name Judah.
Whether people recognize it or not, there is tremendous worth and dignity in every human life. Before you know anything, have anything or can do anything, you are somebody worth loving and worth pursuing, because your true value is set by your creator and no one else.
When you don’t know your value, you lay yourself open to manipulation and abuse. You will jump through all kinds of hoops, and accept less than everyone else, and let them tell you that you are ungrateful if you bring it up! Have you been settling for not being treated well in relationships because you thought that was the best you could get? Are you working hard in every relationship to prove your worth so that you will be loved and accepted? Let God take you through the same journey that Leah went through to get free of that situation.
When Leah was married to Jacob in place of her sister, she was unloved. Instead of having a man who prized her, she stood in her sister’s shadow, and felt the pain of not being enough.
The Lord opened her womb, while Rachel remained barren, but Leah used her privilege to try and become what circumstances were telling her she was not.
Her first born she called Reuben, saying, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”
The second child she called Simeon, saying, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.”
The third child she called Levi, saying, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”
Leah chose to go through the discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of child birth because she didn’t know she was worth loving. Every baby was about trying to earn the affirmation that she was worth as much as Rachel.
Are you doing all the right things, but with the wrong motive? On paper, it looks like you ought to be happy with the relationship you have, but it is bittersweet for you, because all the time you are working to do enough to earn the love and affirmation you desire. If you are jumping through hoops to be loved, that is servitude and bondage.
Like Leah, you must move on to Judah. When she gave birth to him, her fourth child, she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.”
Leah decided she wasn’t going to look to Jacob anymore for her sense of worth, and that she had to live for an audience of one. She realized, “I don’t need to do this because of my affliction; this time I am going to do this and be thankful that God has made my womb fruitful! I am done with trying to make someone else believe my worth. I am enough!”
Maybe it is time for you to declare that, whether others realize it or not, you are worthy of being treated right, you are worthy of respect and honor in the context of a loving relationship. You are done with abuse and being pushed around. You are over trying to prove who you are, and if some don’t recognize you, God will raise up another who will!
Pray
Heavenly Father, I am in awe of the incredible value that you have placed on my life. You have settled the issue of my worth, and I am so grateful for your love for me.
Right now I ask you for the grace to develop my self esteem so that it is in line with your Word. I declare that your Word is true and every feeling and experience I have ever had to the contrary is losing its power over me. I refuse to be held in bondage to the need to perform to be loved, and I declare that I am free right now to praise you and to trust you without fear. Thank you, Lord!
Dr. Ramsee Mumba are his wife Estrella are the Senior Pastors of Rentless Global Ministry.
