Discovering Destiny (Part 24): Overlooked By Man, Positioned By God
Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.
Isabella and I are back home. Yesterday was August 4th, my wife’s birthday, and we spent it traveling. If you know her, reach out and tell her happy belated birthday.
In our “Discovering Destiny” series, we have been walking through the life of Jacob. Everybody talks about Jacob getting tricked. Everybody talks about him reaping what he sowed. Everybody talks about Rachel, because of her beauty. But people leave Leah out. Do not forget about Leah. She gave birth to the bloodline of Judah, and Jesus came from that bloodline.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”
Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”
1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Genesis 29:31-32 NLT“When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, ‘The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.'”
Genesis 29:33-35 NLT“She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, ‘The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.’ Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, ‘Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!’ Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, ‘Now I will praise the LORD!’ And then she stopped having children.”
Supporting scriptures:
Psalm 139:16 TPT“You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book.”
Genesis 16:13 NLT“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ She also said, ‘Have I truly seen the One who sees me?'”
Genesis 28:14 NLT“Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions, west and east, north and south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.”
Jeremiah 31:3 NLT“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”
Psalm 22:3 AMPC“But You are holy, O You Who dwell in the [holy] praises of Israel.”
Isaiah 61:3 NLT“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.”
Setting the Stage:
Jacob was madly in love with Rachel. He met her at the well, he kissed her, and he cried out loud. He told her father, “I will work seven years for this woman.” Laban agreed. But Rachel was the younger sister. On the wedding night the room was dark, the veil was on, and Laban sent in the older one. Jacob woke up married to Leah.
Now imagine Leah in that moment. Her father says, “You are going in there.” She says, “But Dad, he does not love me. He loves Rachel.” And Laban says, “I do not care about that. You are the older sister, and I am not letting the younger one marry before you.” She did not ask for any of this. You might read that story and think Leah was an afterthought, a mistake in somebody else’s plan. She was never a mistake.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. You Were Written Into God’s Plan Before You Arrived On This Planet.
That is what David said in Psalm 139:16. Now let me apply it to Leah first, and then to you. Laban made the decision to hand Leah over that night. But God knew. Hear me carefully, because I am not saying God makes everything happen. God has foreknowledge of every decision and every action. God knew this was going to happen from the foundations of the world. That is why Genesis 29:31 says that when the LORD saw Leah was unloved, He enabled her to have children. He made sure she produced child after child after child. Leah was never an afterthought in God’s plan.
How this applies to you:
— Psalm 139:16 TPT says the days God planned for you “were already recorded in your book” before you ever saw the light of day. Your days were numbered in His book before you took one breath. Your assignment did not begin the day somebody else made a decision about you.
— God does not need you to be popular for you to be blessed.
— Jacob, at least in the Bible, never says one kind word to Leah. Look at that whole chapter. Child after child is being born, and he never says anything nice to her. We do not know everything that happened in real life, and I am only telling you what the Bible says. And through all of it, God was still moving.
— People will have thoughts about you, opinions about you, and plots against you, but they cannot rewrite what God has already recorded.
— This is not the first woman in the Bible who was overlooked. Hagar was minding her own business when her boss said, “Go sleep with my husband and let us see if we can have a baby.” She did it, she had a son, and then they put her out of the house. And in the middle of all of that, Genesis 16:13 NLT says she gave God a name: “You are the God who sees me.” Two women, two different households, two different generations, and the same discovery.
— Maybe you feel like you were thrown into something you never asked for. Thrown into a division at work. Thrown into a department. Handed something at church you did not even know how to do. And now people are talking about you, and it feels like you are in the way. Listen to me: your destiny predates the mess you are standing in right now. Men can treat you badly, and you are still called, still anointed, and there is still grace on your life to succeed.
— The world cannot define you, because the world did not design you.
2. Jacob Did Not Want Her, But He Could Not Walk Out His Destiny Without Her.
At Bethel, God spoke the blessing of Abraham over Jacob and told him his descendants would be “as numerous as the dust of the earth.” Basically the same blessing He gave Abraham, He gave to Jacob. That was Jacob’s destiny. But part of the manifestation of that blessing was Leah. Rachel had his heart, and Leah was helping him carry out the covenant. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and later Issachar and Zebulun all came out of her. Half the nation of Israel came out of a woman people say nobody wanted.
How this applies to you:
— Genesis 28:14 NLT was the Bethel promise. Jacob walked away from that rock carrying a covenant he could not fulfill by himself. The wife he did not want was carrying the part he could not reach.
— There are some people who may not like you, but they still need you.
— And here is the other side of it. There are some people you may not like, and you still have to fulfill what God called you to do. You are not doing it for them. You are doing it for God.
— God is going to connect you to the people you need. Some of them will celebrate you. Some of them will appreciate you. And some of them will despise you. Guess what? You need them too.
— The blessing on your life is not contingent on people’s opinions of you.
— There will be people who say you should not have gotten the promotion, you should not be in that position, you should not be the one. Okay. At the end of the day, you are there. Leah had to say, “Whether you like it or not, I am here, God sees me, and God’s anointing is on my life.” Do not let the opinions of people stop you. Embrace the grace to do what God called you to do for such a time as this.
— Their poison cannot stop your purpose.
3. You Can Chase A Position God Never Assigned You.
Now look at what Leah does with the blessing. She has a son, names him Reuben, and says, “Now my husband will love me.” That did not work. She has a second and names him Simeon. She has a third, names him Levi, and says, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me.” Three sons. Three statements. She was building a case. And what she was really doing was chasing something she was never going to receive. The man was simply not in love with her. Sometimes we do the very same thing. Surely this time. Surely this time. Surely this time. And it never happens.
How this applies to you:
— Most of us love feeling appreciated. There are love languages, and mine is words of affirmation. Gifts do not really do much for me. Everybody likes affirmation, and nobody likes feeling passed over.
— Sometimes you are chasing something from people that you are just never going to get from them.
— If you are looking for the approval of people who may never approve of you, understand that they may never affirm you, never confirm you, and never applaud you. It just may never happen. You cannot live your life contingent on the approval of people.
— Jeremiah 31:3 NLT says, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.” I have to walk into every single day knowing that God is on me, in me, with me, and for me. God’s approval of me is not contingent on the opinions of men.
— I have to look at God, not look at men.
— Hagar said it while she was walking out the door with her son: “God sees me.” I like words of affirmation, but if I do not get the appreciation, I still know God loves me and I can still walk into any room with my head held high. I believe what God believes about me.
— God looks at me and says, “That is My son, in whom I am well pleased.”
4. She Named Her Destiny While She Was Praising God.
Something happened in Leah between Levi and Judah. When the fourth son came, she was not saying “maybe my husband will love me now.” All she said was, “Now I will praise the LORD,” and that is exactly what the name means. Judah means praise. She basically decided, “From now on, if God gives me more children, I am just going to give God some praise. I am not fighting over this man’s approval anymore. I am not pursuing something I may never get.” She stopped auditioning for people and started living for God.
How this applies to you:
— I am tired of auditioning for people. I am living my life for God.
— Psalm 22:3 AMPC says God is the One “Who dwell[s] in the [holy] praises of Israel.” Leah could not make Jacob move, but she could open her mouth and give God praise. She stopped chasing a man who would not come and started hosting a God who would.
— Isaiah 61:3 NLT promises “festive praise instead of despair.” That is not a mood swing, that is an exchange. She did not stop hurting on the day she praised. She stopped letting the hurt run the house.
— My life is not contingent on people’s opinions of me, and I do not have to be out here performing for people.
— I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I know that He set me apart from the foundations of the world. I know that He called me from my mother’s womb, and I know that He knew me by name. Before my mother ever gave me a name, God had already given me a name.
— So when my feet hit the ground every morning, I am going to give Him some praise. I am going to walk into the day with a spring in my step, a song in my heart, a praise on my lips, and a smile on my face. Whether people like it or not.
— Stop performing for people who, for whatever reason, are focused on other things.
You may be overlooked by some people, but you are positioned by God. You have to know that you are assigned, you are graced, and you are called.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that my destiny was written before I ever took one breath!
There are people who may like me and may not like me, but my focus is not them!
My focus is Your positioning of me!
No plot and no plan from the enemy can stop me!
The enemy’s poison cannot stop my purpose!
I know who I am, and I know what I am called to do!
I thank You for the favor I have with people and the approval I have with many!
Some people will never approve of me, and I am not moved by that!
Those people cannot see what You see, but I serve a God who sees me!
I believe what You believe about me, and I walk into this day like I know it!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
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