1 When Rachel realized that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, "Give me sons or I'll die!"
2 Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, "Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?" (The Message)
Rachel sounds like a 6 year old (or maybe a 16 year old depending upon the day) as she goes to Jacob and says, "Life isn't fair, I'm not happy about it, now you fix it!" You really can't blame Rachel as we have all felt this way before.
The truth is that life isn't fair and we don't like it that way. But life wasn't fair for Leah either, she didn't deserve to not be loved by Jacob, she wasn't the one who made him marry her. So in the midst of an unfair life we once again have conflict. It's a conflict that doesn't seem to have an easy fix or a happy ending anywhere in site. So we should be surprised that God makes himself known in the midst of the conflict because after all conflict isn't good is it? Or is conflict just one of the places God is most likely to show up in the midst of?
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- Who can you most identify with in this story, Rachel, Leah, or Jacob?
- Are you finding that life isn't fair right now? How are you dealing with it?
- What is the scariest part of conflict for you?
- How might you be more aware of God's presence in the midst of the conflict you find yourself involved in?
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