If you're reading the Old Testament with us this year, read Genesis 29, Esther 5, and Psalm 28. This devotional is about Genesis 29. Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. He looked, and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well. When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. My brothers, Jacob asked the shepherds, where are you from? We are from Haran, they answered. Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor, Jacob asked? We know him, they replied. Is he well? Jacob inquired. Yes, they answered, and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep. Look, said Jacob, it is still broad daylight. It is not yet time to gather the livestock, water the sheep, and take them back to pasture. But they replied, We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered, and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep. While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother's brother Laban, with Laban's sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. He told Rachel that he was Rebekah's son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father. When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened. Then Laban declared, You are indeed my own flesh and blood. After Jacob had stayed with him a month, Laban said to him, Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be. Now Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. Laban replied, Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her. Finally Jacob said to Laban, Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her. So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast. But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid servant. When morning came, there was Leah. What have you done to me? Jacob said to Laban. Wasn't it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me? Laban replied, it is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. Finish this week's celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work. And Jacob did just that. He finished the week's celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. Laban also gave his servant, girl Bilhah, to his daughter Rachel as her maid-servant. Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, The Lord has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now. Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, he has given me this son as well. So she named him Simeon. Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons. So he was named Levi. And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, This time I will praise the Lord. So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children. This is God's word. Laban may have thought himself to be very clever. He managed to get 14 years of work and marry off both of his daughters at the same time. Everyone else, however, suffered in this situation. But no one suffered more than Leah. Moses, the author of Genesis, recorded the differences in attractiveness between Leah and her little sister Rachel. We saw that in verse 17. Surely Leah herself must have realized it. Watching her father trick Jacob into marrying her must not have felt very good. She must have wondered if Laban felt he wouldn't be able to find her a husband the usual way because she wasn't attractive enough. She must have felt anxious about Jacob's reaction when he found out what Laban had done. No doubt she was crushed by his disappointment with her and his continuing desire to marry Rachel. The only thing that she seemed to have in her favor was her fertility. This gave her an advantage over Rachel, who had difficulty conceiving according to verse 31. Since Jacob loved Rachel so much more than Leah, it seems likely that Rachel had, um, more opportunities to conceive than Leah did. Yet Leah was the one producing the boys that Jacob wanted. Each child that Leah bore was interpreted as a gift from the Lord, which it was, according to verse 31. Although her marriage was unhappy and her family life was stressful, Leah looked to the Lord for help and was grateful for his favor in her life. So many people suffer from sad, unfixable situations. Thinking about Leah's life can give us some perspective. We all have problems, heartbreaks, and disappointments in life. But most of us have better lives than Leah ever had. Her marriage was sad from the beginning, from her first full day as a married woman. Most of us probably had and have a life that is better than that. despite how messed up her situation was. Leah was thankful to the Lord for each son she bore to Jacob. Her motives were not always perfect, but her thanks to God was sincere. When your life is unhappy, follow Leah's advice and consider ways in which the Lord has blessed you. Praise him for what he has given you. Don't grieve over the things that you've been denied. Leah's disappointments in life were opportunities for her to learn how to walk with God. Her words after the birth of each son suggest that she made the most of those opportunities. May we do the same when we experience painful situations in our own lives. If you found this devotional helpful, please sign up to receive it in your email every day by going to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. 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