Hello! Hope you all are having a great Thursday so far. I’m a little off in my days this week—I keep thinking today is Friday for some reason. Bummer. Anyways, I was reading in Genesis this morning again, and came across something I thought I would share. Remember the story of Jacob? How he worked seven years for his wife Rachel, only to be given her sister, Leah, instead? And then, he had to go and work another seven years to finally have Rachel? That’s fourteen years! That’s a long time.
“So Jacob server seven years [plus another seven] to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.”
Genesis 29:20
Romantic, right? But, while it may have only seems like mere days to love-crazed Jacob, it was still fourteen total years before he received what he desired most in the world—Rachel.
We live in a world of instant gratification. We expect things to be given to us right away, and often we don’t like waiting more than five minutes for anything. I’m not trying to point fingers here—I’m just as guilty of this as the next person. When we have problems within our relationships, we’re taught to solve the issues quickly, instead of attempting to make lasting changes. When given the opportunity to go after our dreams, often we are daunted by the shear length of time it would take to accomplish said dreams. Relationships. Career goals. Life goals. Bucket lists. Whatever. We give up to easily.
What if Jacob had given up? I’m sure working those fourteen years was not fun, especially after being tricked into marrying Leah instead of Rachel after year seven. I am willing to bet that he thought about throwing in the towel after that ordeal. But you know what? He stuck with it. Why? Because to him, Rachel was worth fighting for. She was worth working fourteen long, hard years for, and he was going to do what ever it took to marry her. Talk about determination.
What in your life is worth fighting for? Is there something that you are thinking about giving up on? Don’t do it. Don’t give up. Just because you can’t fix the problem within a matter on minutes, or even days, doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting for. Just because that dream of yours can’t be achieved overnight doesn’t mean it’s not worth pursuing. Go for it. With all you’ve got, go for it. Because in the end, when your relationship is restored, or your dream is achieved, it won’t matter how many countless hours, days, months or even years you spent working towards your goal. What will matter is that you achieved it. And your life will be better because of it.
This is something God has really been speaking to me lately. I become discouraged so easily, and I lose sight of the plans and purposes he has for me. I forget that achieving my goals takes time, and that I need to be patient—just as Jacob was patient in working all those long years for Rachel. My prayer is that God would help me to be diligent and patient, as I work towards the goals he has placed within my heart. And I pray the same for you as well.
Well, I hope you all have a great rest of your Thursday. God Bless:)
Thanks for the message. It definitely hit home. One of my strengths is that I am very motivated to get things done quickly. However, that can also be a weakness when I don’t take the time to do it well because I do want to cross it off my list 😎