Beyond the Weekend

April 27 | Will I Exchange IT?

April 27, 2018

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

[Leah] conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. Genesis 29:35

Read: Genesis 29:32-35

Listen: Genesis 29-30

TODAY’S MESSAGE

As we read this story we wonder, “Does anyone here learns anything?” Is this just a downer or does anyone seem to experience growth in the midst of family conflict?

Today’s verse gives us a clue that Leah does just this. She is chasing IT. For Leah, IT is the love of her husband Jacob. She is sure that she can get the love of her husband if she bears him children. She has a first son, and yet no love. She has a second son. He still doesn’t love her. A third son and still no love from Jacob. After giving birth to her fourth son, Leah praises God for the blessing rather than dwelling on the love of Jacob. She realizes that she experienced God’s blessing and offers him praise regardless of Jacob’s love.

Leah traded her need for IT for a relationship with God.

We can be like Leah. We think we’ll be happy when we get married. Once we get married, we can think kids will make our lives complete. When we have kids, we think it is really grandkids. We can do this with our careers, our personal lives, our families, our standard of living and many other things.

The secret is that God is the only one who can truly give us value, satisfaction and fulfillment. So our hope in family conflict is not that the situations will change—but that our hearts would change. Our hope must be in our loving Father who is working in the midst of the conflict.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

As you look back on the week, you’ve identified IT, the lengths you will go to obtain IT and how you compare to others. We also saw that ultimately IT cannot be our hope. Today, take some time and watch the video “King of My Heart.” Let the words be your prayer today. Let God be the mountain you run to and the fountain you drink from this week and going forward.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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