Have you ever waited and waited for something only to discover the result is not what you expected? My mother was an avid gardener. Early in December one year, as a joke, my dad bought her an enormous bag of peat moss. He wrapped it, tied on a big red bow and placed it under the Christmas tree. For weeks Mom imagined the huge package contained something wonderful like a fur coat. Can you feel her disappointment when, after all that anticipation, she discovered it was only soil for the garden?
Abraham’s son, Jacob, experienced a similar feeling. He fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Rachel and worked like a slave for seven years in order to marry her. Then on the wedding night, he discovered he’d been tricked. Instead of Rachel, Jacob got her older sister. He felt cheated, especially when he had to work another seven years to get the bride he originally chose.
Yet, God has a purpose in making us wait. Jacob felt like he waited those first seven years for nothing, but little did he know that in Leah he got a far greater blessing than he got through Rachel. The line of our Savior, Jesus Christ, flows not through the line of Rachel but through the line of Leah. Through the unloved wife, we all are blessed!
Psalm 22:5 says, “[Our ancestors] put their trust in you and were never disappointed.” When we put our hopes and dreams in God’s hands, we will never be disappointed.
