Dear Friend, Are you feeling unloved and unwanted because nobody cares for you? Many people feel worthlessness when they feel unloved. Some children feel they are unloved when their parents get separated and leave them in a difficult situation. Some women feel they are unloved in a marriage that has gone sour. Some old parents feel they are unloved and lonely when their children leave them alone in their old age.
Whether we agree or not, every heart longs for acceptance and human closeness and wants to be loved.
I am writing this message on a women’s day and hence would like to touch upon one woman in the Bible who felt unloved.
Leah – Unloved Women
The Bible says, “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.” – Genesis 29:31 NLT.
Leah’s husband, Jacob (which means deceiver), never intended to marry her. He wanted to marry Leah’s younger sister, Rachel. But Leah’s father deceived Jacob by giving Leah to be his wife. When Jacob realized this in the morning, he was upset and angry because he had worked for Rachel for seven years and ended up marrying Leah. Laban, Leah’s father asked Jacob to work for another seven years and then agreed to give Rachel as his wife.
So, for Jacob, Leah was an unwanted package in his life. He never wanted her, but she came into his life without any invitation.
It was not Leah’s fault. Nobody asked her opinion. It was not her choice. But she ended up as a wife to a man who did not want her.
God’s way of dealing with the unloved:
God is righteous. He saw that Leah was being treated properly, and she was unloved. The Bible says, “When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.“
Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, Reuben. The Bible says, “She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” She was longing for love and attention from her husband.
Then, she gave birth to her second son. The Bible says, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.” Leah’s deep unloved emotions were poured out through her son’s name. After giving birth to two sons still her heart longed for being part of the unloved family.
Then came the third child. She named him Levi. The Bible says, “He was named Levi, for she (Leah) said, Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!” This time, she surely thought Jacob would love her. But somehow, she remained unloved.
Now comes the fourth child. She (Leah) named him Judah,for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!.” You will notice that Leah is not bothered by her unloved status this time. She starts praising God for all the blessings God has given her. She stops looking at what she does not have and starts looking at all the blessings God has given her.
Rachel – Loved women:
Now Rachel was most loved by Jacob. But she loved and longed to be a mother and bear children like her sister Leah. The Bible says, “When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
We might think Rachel had everything. She was much loved by her husband, but she was desperate to the extent of disliking her life. All because she did not have any children, but her sister had many. The jealousy made her life bitter.
She was most loved yet became miserable.
Much later, possibly 13 years after Rachel’s marriage, she gave birth to a son, Joseph. The Lord remembered Rachel, and her prayers did not go in vain.
The story of Leah and Rachel stands as evidence of how God balances our lives.
Winners and losers:
You will notice that not all the unloved are losers, and not all the loved are winners. In the story of Leah and Rachel, Leah is unloved but not a loser. Rachel is much loved, but she is not a winner either.
Leah’s third son, Levi’s generation, was selected by God to serve in His presence. No one else was allowed in His Holy of Holies except the sons of Levi. Moses and Aaron, the greatest leaders in the history of Israel, came out of Levi.
The great kings came out of Judah, the fourth son of Leah. King David and Solomon were examples of great kings born to Judah. Great of all, Jesus was born in the genealogy that originated from Judah.
Leah could not see all the greatness of her children during her lifetime, but she outlived her sister Rachel and was able to see her children and grandchildren.
Rachel, on the other hand, died while she was delivering her second child, Benjamin. She was buried in the wayside as her death happened while Jacob was traveling.
Rachel’s son Joseph was chosen by God to save the the rest of his family through famine. He ended up as the prime minister of Egypt. Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh became the largest clans in Israel. Joshua who conquered the land of Cannan came from the clan of Ephraim.
Rachel and Leah did not see how mightily God used their son later on.
While we humans try to rank winners and losers over a short time frame, the Lord, who is our righteous judge, balances the unloved and loved equally in his scale. Jesus loves everyone, independent of our color, race, or nation. He died for every one of us on the cross.
What to do when you feel unloved?
The story of Leah and Rachel gives a great example of how God leads our lives. Please do not look at your current situation and assume you are unloved and unwanted. God will bring everything to a balance through His righteous act.
Dear friend, do you feel your life is worthless, and nobody loves you? Wherever you are, Jesus loves you dearly. He also wants to bless you, like how he blessed Leah.
The Bible says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NLT
God gave His son Jesus as a great sacrifice because He loved the world and its people. You may not love Jesus today, or you may not even know about Him, but Jesus still loves you.
My dear friend, God loves you. The Bible says, “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” – Isaiah 49:15 NLT
Jesus is searching for you.
God always loves and wants you. The Lord who created you searches for you. You may have gone far away from Him, but He will never let you go. You are the most precious, and Jesus laid down His life on the cross just for you. He wants to mend the broken pieces of your life and heal you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He is our healer.
The Lord says in the Bible, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” – Isaiah 54:10.
Let’s go to the presence of Jesus and pray to Him. He is our loving father and everlasting God. Please place your hand on your heart and call upon the name of Jesus. Pray the below prayer from the bottom of your heart in your own words.
Dear Jesus, I come to you with a humble heart. I have felt unloved and unwanted so many times. I have felt that there is no one who loves me and cares for me. Today, through the story of Leah, I realized how you could turn my life. I understood how much you love me and care for me. I am not alone anymore. I am not unloved anymore. Because I have a God who loves and cares for me dearly. Jesus, please come into my life. Wash me with your precious blood. I need you in my life. You alone can give me new purpose and meaning to my life. Jesus, I believe in you. I put all my trust in you. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
Dear Friend, Thanks so much for joining us today. Jesus loves you and cares for you dearly. He will surely lead you. You don’t have to feel unloved anymore.
