1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV): Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
The word 'cares' in 'He cares for you' here is 'melo' in Greek, which means 'to be of interest, to concern, to take notice, to take care'. This word is different from the word 'care' in 'casting all your care upon Him', which is 'merimna' in Greek, meaning 'anxieties, distraught, feeling troubled in mind'.
People of God, whatever care ('merimna') you may have at the moment (in your life, your family, ministry, business, or career), the good news is Jesus takes notice and He is interested to take over all those cares. That's what the Word of God says He is! Jesus Himself says in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
At the time of writing, I also feel there are a number of you out there who are going through a time of loneliness, or worse still, the feeling that no one cares. In fact, some of you have even become rather tired of this, and you are already on the verge of giving it all up. But take heart if you are reading this, because the Lord has a message for you today.
I heard these words from the Lord, and I want to release them to you by faith:
"There are people in the midst who feel they have been forgotten, but tell them I have not forgotten them. Tell them that they are not insignificant, even if they think they are. I have a plan for them, and I have noticed them. I will do a great work for them, and I will bless them, the way I did for Leah."
Now, who is Leah? Hardly anyone talks about Leah! It's as if she has been forgotten, because people tend to talk more about the grand love story of Jacob and Rachel (Leah's sister). In short, Leah was someone who has been 'overshadowed' by her more illustrious (i.e. famous, distinguished, showing remarkable qualities) sister!
By the way, the name 'Leah' in Hebrew means 'weary', from the word 'laah' meaning 'to tire, to be weary, to grieve'. Maybe some of you are also feeling wearied, because you have recently been 'sidelined' by others, ignored, forgotten, unloved, uncared for, unwanted, abandoned, or even been unfairly treated. Or maybe you feel you are 'good for nothing', unimportant, or insignificant in this world.
Beloved of God, you are not alone in this. The Lord wants you to know that He has taken notice and He has a plan to bless you, just as He has done for Leah those days. Will you be willing to surrender and cast all those 'merimna' to Him? Because He does care for you. And He backs it up with His words in 1 Peter 5:7.
Now let's look at Leah herself in Genesis 29. She was the forgotten one, the ignored one, and the unloved one at that time. Genesis 29:16-18 says, 'Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were faint (i.e. unlikely to have much effect, lacking attractiveness), but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. Now Jacob loved Rachel (instead of Leah)...' And the story went on that Jacob was even willing to serve Laban (Leah's and Rachel's father) seven years just to marry Rachel!
Genesis 29:20-25 then says, 'So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled..." And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening (of the feast), that Laban took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"'
Imagine how Leah felt at that time! That rotten feeling of being shunned, unwanted, unloved, and being compared to her more 'popular' sister! Was it her fault that this had to happen? No, not at all! It wasn't her fault that her dad (Laban) did this to her! And it couldn't be her fault that Jacob loved Rachel more than her!
If you have been going through a situation like Leah, I want to write to you and encourage you that the Lord indeed has great compassion for the Leahs of today. He hasn't forgotten you, and He hears and takes notice of every heart cry of yours. Your breakthrough will come if you don't give up on Him.
Genesis 29:31 says, 'When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb...' The phrase 'He opened her womb' here actually means 'He enabled her womb'. In other words, when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He enabled her womb. 'Womb' here is a 'picture' of 'the ability to produce, the ability to be fruitful, or the ability for a breakthrough'. And the word 'enabled' here speaks of God's grace, because God's grace is 'His ability (same root word as 'enabled') to do for you what you cannot do for yourself'.
As you can see above, there is tremendous hope for the Leahs of today! And of course, God's grace is more than enough for the Leahs of today!
For the record, Leah then went on to move from breakthrough to breakthrough, and great indeed was her fruitfulness! She eventually gave Jacob six out of his twelve sons! That's 50%! The rest of Jacob's sons were through Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah put together.
Here is the list of the fruits of Leah's womb:
1. Reuben (Genesis 29:32)
2. Simeon (Genesis 29:33)
3. Levi (Genesis 29:34)
4. Judah (Genesis 29:35)
5. Issachar (Genesis 30:17-18)
6. Zebulun (Genesis 30:19-20)
7. Dinah, the daughter (Genesis 30:21)
'Womb' speaks of 'fruitfulness'. The Lord heard Leah's heart cry and He blessed her womb greatly, so much so one of her sons was Judah, and it's from Judah's lineage (out of all the sons of Jacob) came forth Jesus!
Matthew 1:1-2 says, 'The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob begot Judah and his brothers...' See the name Judah here? And no other names among Jacob's sons were mentioned! It surely goes to show that the Lord hears Leah's heart cry and the Lord surely remembers Leah and the fruit of her womb! And I believe He will do so to you likewise, whatever your situation may be at the moment.
"It's easy for you to say, but how would you be able to understand what I've been going through?"
I may not be able to understand your situation fully, but I know I have a God who does. Why? Because I know He is a faithful God, and His faithfulness is great. I have gone through many 'Leah situation' myself, yet I have always been in awe of how faithful He can be whenever I look to Him and cry out to Him. And I am writing this from the very bottom of my heart.
Lamentations 3:22-24 (NKJV) says, 'Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul. Therefore I hope in Him'.
The word 'compassions' here is 'raw-kham' in Hebrew, literally meaning 'to show love'. And out of so many other books in the Bible, the above verses have to be found in a book called Lamentations (meaning 'an expression of sorrow, grieving, weeping, and regret'). The Lord wants to show you that in the midst of your sorrow, grieving, weeping, and regret, know that His compassions for you fail not! And He will surely show up if you look to Him and cry out to Him.
So, take heart, beloved of God, because if He takes notice and is interested even in the number of hair on your head (Matthew 10:30), you can be sure He will also take notice of every other area of your life.
Receive His great love and grace for your life today, and watch how He is going to turn your weeping into a time of rejoicing. Amen!
