unloved: the life of Leah | her hard marriage.

This post is apart of my 31 days of writing challenge where I am zooming in on the life of Leah. How she was unloved & hated, but God saw her. How she was jealous & fearful, but God honored her. We can learn a lot from Leah, so won’t you join me? To stay updated, please follow my facebook page here. To read the biblical account of Leah’s life, see Genesis 29 & on.

If you’ve missed previous posts, click here.

A lot of men and women live in loveless marriages, where they are not cared for as they should be. It’s easy for me to say that those people should be able to leave, but the bible doesn’t say that. Abuse, yes. Unfaithfulness, yes. There are only these two grounds for divorce. Otherwise, according to God’s law and will for us, we are to remain in our marriages and continue to seek His glory through it.

I hurt for Leah as I think of the millions of times she was rejected by the man she loved. Her search for a godly marriage consumed her prayer life, permeated her mothering, and drove her actions in every facet of her livelihood.

Throughout the course of her marriage, she dealt with a hard-hearted, maybe even cruel husband, who didn’t respect her or give her the things a wife needs.

Maybe this is just my entitlement attitude speaking, but no one deserves such a fate!

Then I look at how she became married. She deceived.

Don’t we all, to some extent put on a face of deception to potential spouses prior to getting married. Couples wake up one day and wonder where the person went that they married. Where is that nice, sweet, romantic person I fell for?

Marriage is for God’s glory and to reveal to this dying world that God can love the unlovely, work in the ungodly, and change the unwilling. But often, the goal of marriage is lost in a sea of sorrow and disappointment.

Leah lost herself in that sea many times. But what I love, and what is so amazing about her story, is the grace that is weaved through it all. God saw her and loved her, yes, but what she changed in the world, what she left behind, was far greater than her dreams own to be loved. She aided in spreading the undying love of God to the world.

Think about it, if Leah had given up and walked away from her husband because of the injustice she felt, we would not have Jesus. Although God would have planned another way, He chose Leah, for this moment of her life, to step out in faith and persevere, for the sake of the whole world. We will all sacrifice for the sake of Christ and each other when we step out in faith.

Leah left behind her children, who would later build up God’s chosen people, who were to prepare the entire world for Jesus, who planned to save them all. All because of His great love for us!

Marriage is hard and a struggle. Just like Leah’s, our God-centered marriages work to reveal the goodness of God and the redeeming qualities of Jesus, who saves us. Difficulties aside, what is more important than that?

 Watch, everyday, for 31 days in the month of October, as we get into the story of Leah and walk with her as her feet trod aside a God who saw her.

note: I am doing my best to get the word out to everyone who could benefit from the Unloved series | a peek into the life of Leah, but I need your help! Please share away on your social media(s) of choice below, tell your friends, and don’t be afraid to join in the conversation in the comments below. xo!

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I am linking up at The Nesting Place’s 31 day writing challenge: inspiration & faith.