Me, Myself, and I
- womnofworth
- Mar 1, 2021
- 3 min read
+ Mix in a WHOLE LOT of Jesus
Have you ever been around people, but still felt lonely? I can definitely attest to that. I have family, school friends, church friends, and even a best friend. Despite having all these people in my life, I still felt extremely lonely a couple months ago.
I really enjoy communicating with people; especially as the COVID pandemic emerged in March, I did my best to keep up with my friendships. Regardless of whether or not my friends or acquaintances reached out to me first, I was very intentional in showing them that they were being thought of.
But, toward the end of the year, I really started to burn out. It didn’t bother me earlier when people didn’t reach out to talk to me, but it suddenly did now. I began asking myself why no one bothered to reciprocate the love I showed them. Even those closest to me didn’t seem to care enough to ask a simple “how are you?”. Whenever I looked at social media, friends whom I tried to maintain a relationship with were hanging out with each other. Was I ever invited? No.
I felt so alone in those moments. I was so tired of trying to make people feel loved, but always have it go one way. In my state of vulnerability, I truly felt like no one around me really cared for me.
A female character in the Bible who also went through a season of loneliness was Leah. Leah had a husband, father, sister, and maid. Yet, she felt forsaken.
In Genesis 29:31, it says, “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved…”.
The Lord took notice of Leah. Unlike Jacob who was quite focused on a trivial matter (beauty), the Lord looked at Leah’s circumstances and had compassion on her. He saw that she was not being loved by those around her. When no one else sees what you are going through, remember that the Lord sees. Our God cares about us so deeply and intimately that He even knows the very number of hairs on our head.
As daughters of the Most High King, we are precious in His sight. God calls us His “… royal priesthood [and] His own special people…” (1 Peter 2:9). Going back to Genesis 29, in verses 32-35, God blesses Leah with children due to her state of being unloved. Verse 32 says, “Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” Also, verse 34 says, “… Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons”.
In these verses, Leah acknowledges that God sees her affliction, but she is not satisfied with the affection God shows her. Leah is still looking for human acceptance – specifically from her husband Jacob. In verse 35, however, there’s a shift in Leah. The verse reads, “And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she named him Judah…”.
Leah choosing to praise God for Judah instead of using the children God gifts her to win the adoration of Jacob changed her story. Leah became the mother of Judah, from whose tribe Jesus derived. Leah in this verse is seen to finally be still and at peace in the knowledge that God cared for her and wanted to SHOW that He cared by providing her with children. Leah’s attitude shift was able to impact generations to come.
Even if people forsake you, God can make you a blessing.
You are not measured by the way others treat you or think of you. It doesn’t matter if the people around you don’t make you feel important. God can change your heart, perspectives, and status IF you are willing to be content with Him – not His gifts (such as friendship) – but Him alone. Once you come to the realization of who Jesus is and who you are in relation to Jesus, feeling cared for by others won’t matter anymore. If the God of the universe thinks so highly of you, what more do you need?
Love,
A Woman of Worth
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