Anglican Devotional 9 August 2024 | Be Anxious For Nothing

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The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 9 August 2024 | Be Anxious For Nothing

TOPIC: Be Anxious For Nothing

READ: Genesis 30: 1-21(NKJV)

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “[Am] I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear [a child] on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”
Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, [and] indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.
And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.
And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me [some] of your son’s mandrakes.”
But she said to her, “[Is it] a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”
When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.
And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
And Leah said, “God has endowed me [with] a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
THE MESSAGE:

Here, we see Rachel becoming desperate of having children she could call her own “Give me children, or else I die.” This desperation was engineered by envy; for “she envied her sister” (v.1). In desperation, she employed Sarah’s policy of surrogacy (v.3; Genesis 16:2). In desperation, she also held unto the superstitious belief of “Mandrakes aiding conception” (v.14). How quickly she learnt that it is God who gives children! For Leah who did not use Mandrakes conceived twice more while she remained barren even after using it (v.15-21).

We have seen and heard of many unspeakable things desperate people do to get a child. What are you desiring that is worth dying for? What has your desperation pushed you into doing? God’s word for us today is “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psa. 46:10). May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Trust God! Your miracle shall come.

PRAYER: Lord, may I be anxious for nothing. May Your peace keep my heart and mind through Jesus Christ our Lord.