mgpcpastor's blog

To the bemusement of many I usually describe a situation where expectation and reality don’t match up by invoking Genesis 29:25 “…behold, it was Leah!”
J.D. Greear observes that it always is Leah, and that our expectations and disappointments reveal much about our character and trust in God.

From the article:

Everyone in the world is on a search for something — or someone — to make them whole again. Jacob is looking for his “one, true love,” and he thinks Rachel fits the bill. (Rachel and Leah, incidentally, are on their own search.) Jacob’s experience is our experience: we reach out to take hold of the “Rachel” that is going to make everything right…but in the morning we wake up and it’s only “Leah.” Every time we start a new job, or get into a new relationship, we think, “This is it! Finally my life will be right. This is Rachel!” It’s that Jerry Maguire moment: you complete me.
But in the morning, it’s Leah. It’s always Leah. The blessings of this world may look like Rachel now, but in the full light of day, they are all Leah.
The problem isn’t with the Rachels or the Leahs themselves. Things like sex, romance, or family are God’s gifts to us, blessings he wants us to enjoy. But when we give those things too much weight, they sink. They just can’t hold the weight of our souls. They become what the Bible calls idols, substitute gods.

Read the whole post here.