"Before I formed
you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed
you as a prophet to the nations." ~
Jeremiah 1:5
God recently reminded me of the story of Leah, Rachel, and
Jacob (Gen 29). If you're not familiar
with the story, here's the gist: Jacob
loved Rachel at first sight and spoke to her father about marrying her. A deal was made that Jacob would work for her
father, Laban, for seven years and they would then be permitted to marry. But upon their wedding night, Laban gave
Leah, Rachel's older sister, to Jacob.
Check out Jacob's response:
When morning came,
there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban,
"What is this you have done to me?
I served you for Rachel, didn't I?
Why have you deceived me?" -
Genesis 29:25
Can you imagine how Leah felt? She was married to this man who didn't want
her and made it plainly known that this is not what he signed up for. Essentially, she was not his first choice –
she was second fiddle. And when you hear
this story, no one ever thinks, You know
I would just love to be Leah. That's
what I strive for, to be second choice! Certainly
not! We, or at least I, desire to be the
first choice. I want to be wanted. I want to be seen as useful and a good
choice. But you know what? Oftentimes in our society, people feel a lot
like Leah. We get to thinking we're not
good as the person next to us.
Opportunities arise and we pass by them thinking, So and so is a better choice for that.
I'm just not as good at this as they are.
Each one should test
his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself
to somebody else. ~ Galatians 6:4
Wanna know something wonderful? With God, you are never the second
choice. You are His first choice for the
plans and purposes He has for your life.
He has given you a unique purpose
that only YOU can fulfill. Consider all
the people who tried to back out of their calling (the plan God had for them) –
Moses feared he couldn't speak as well as someone else (Exodus 3:11), Jeremiah
thought he was too young (Jeremiah 1:6), Jonah simply didn't want to do what
God was asking (Jonah 1:3 )– yet God never abandoned them. He never once thought, You know what? You're
right. Maybe you're not the best
choice. Nevermind, I'll get someone else
to do that! He had a purpose wrapped
up in their lives and they were His first
and only choice. God feels the same about you. You are NOT second fiddle. You are first choice!
My frame was not
hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together
in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written
in your book before one of them came to be. ~ Psalm 139:15-16
