Can we talk about Leah for a moment?
Years ago, I was invited to speak to a group of women on the theme “In the Potter’s Hands.” For reasons known only to God, I could not get Leah out of my mind that entire week. I kept returning to her story, seeing new layers of pain, hope, and redemption.
Some of what I discovered then is what I want to share with you here. And by the end, I believe you’ll see that, just like you and me, Leah was a vessel in the Potter’s hands: broken, reshaped, and made new.
Her story, found in Book of Genesis 29–30, has always felt personal to me. Maybe because if we’re honest, most of us have had a “Leah season” a season of feeling unseen, unchosen, or quietly compared. For some it’s around teen age years, for others it last long past that.
Leah was the wife no one waited for.
Jacob worked seven years to marry her sister Rachel. Scripture plainly says he loved Rachel. Leah, on the other hand, was given in marriage through arrangement, not affection.
Can you imagine starting your marriage knowing you were not the first choice?
The Bible tells us something tender in Genesis 29:31:
“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb.”
God saw her.
While Jacob’s heart leaned toward Rachel, God’s heart leaned toward Leah.
And yet, Leah still longed for her husband’s love. When her first son was born, she said, “Now my husband will love me.” With the second, “Surely my husband will become attached to me.” With the third, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me.”
Each baby carried hope.
Each name carried longing.
And I say this gently, because I’ve been there too, how often do we do the same?
We may not name children with our expectations, but we attach our worth to other things:
- If I serve more, maybe I’ll be appreciated.
- If I look better, maybe I’ll be chosen.
- If I do everything right, maybe I’ll finally feel secure.
- If he notices, if they affirm, if they applaud…
Many things can make us momentarily happy. Attention. Achievement. Being needed. Being admired.
But none of those were designed to hold the weight of our identity.
Then something changes in Leah’s heart.
When her fourth son is born, she says, “This time I will praise the Lord.” She names him Judah, which means praise (Genesis 29:35).
Did you notice the shift?
No mention of Jacob.
No striving.
No bargaining for affection.
Just praise.
Somewhere in the middle of her unmet expectations, Leah stopped looking horizontally for fulfillment and started looking vertically.
And here is something that moves me deeply: at the end of Jacob’s life, when he was about to die, he gave instructions about his burial. In Genesis 49:29–31, he said:
“There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife. And there I buried Leah.”
Not Rachel.
Leah.
The unchosen wife was the one buried beside him in the family covenant tomb.
What she may have longed for in youth: recognition, belonging, permanence… she received in a quiet, eternal way at the end.
Oh, sister… God writes stories so differently than we do.
Leah’s fulfillment did not come because Jacob finally loved her the way she hoped. It came when she learned to anchor her heart in the Lord.
And that is our invitation too.
We are not called to beg for love and attention.
We are not called to perform for approval.
We are not called to shrink, compete, or exhaust ourselves trying to be chosen.
We are already loved by our Father.
When we recognize Him not just as Savior, but as King and ruler of our lives, everything shifts. We obey from security. We serve from fullness. We love from identity, and not from desperation.
You and I were never meant to chase crumbs of affection when we have been invited to sit at the King’s table.
A Prayer for the Unseen Heart
Father,
You are the God who sees. Even Hagar called you El Roi (“the God who sees me”)
You saw Leah in her loneliness, and You see me in mine.
Forgive me for the times I have looked to people to give me what only You can provide. Forgive me for striving, performing, and quietly begging for love and approval.
Teach me to rest in the truth that I am already chosen. Already loved. Already secure in You.
Help me to shift my heart from longing for human validation to longing for Your presence. When disappointment comes, help me say, “This time, I will praise the Lord.”
Be the King of my heart.
Be the ruler of my thoughts.
Be the source of my identity.
I don’t want temporary happiness… I want lasting fulfillment in You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Pause and Reflect
- In what areas of my life am I still hoping someone else will validate my worth?
- Have I been striving for love instead of resting in God’s love?
- What would it look like for me to say, like Leah, “This time I will praise the Lord,” right in the middle of disappointment?
- Do I truly believe I am already chosen and loved by my Heavenly Father?
If this encouraged your heart, share it with a friend who may need gentle reassurance today.
With Love,
Priscila