God and art-making (3/4) | Prayer
But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I wil...
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Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful… When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
GENESIS 29:16–17,31
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Reader, as a 27-year-old single, I often wonder why I’m not married – perhaps my cocktail of chronic health conditions screams ‘high maintenance’ to every guy I meet, or my chatty disposition makes guys think their daily words would need to treble. Self-loathing quickly creeps in, worsened, of course, by well-meaning friends telling me ‘my person’ will come along or my perpetual singleness is a ‘gift from God’.
If you also feel invisible to potential suitors, God doesn’t promise a spouse or that singleness will be easy. But today’s passage is a reminder that he sees your feelings of rejection, hears your prayers, and cares about your future. Yes, the protagonist, Leah, is married. But bear with me, because we read that she was ‘not loved’ or chosen by her husband – she likely felt second-best next to her ‘beautiful’ sister, Rachel, who was adored by their husband, Jacob.
God saw Leah’s plight and, by granting her a wider family, gave her social standing and security. For those who, like me, are single and desperately long to have children, this might hit a nerve – you question why God hasn’t blessed you in this way, too. But when we look deeper, it’s God’s faithful character that’s the biggest cause for celebration. Leah acknowledged God’s provision by naming her first two sons Reuben (‘God has seen my misery’) and Simeon (‘the Lord hears’). Then her fourth son, Judah (‘praise’), is listed in the lineage of Jesus Christ, highlighting that God was working in and through Leah’s challenging circumstances to bring about his cosmic purposes (Matthew 1:1–3).
The same is true for you. When you feel unattractive and unwanted, God treasures you as his beautiful child, creatively fashioned in his image (Genesis 1:27–28). What’s more, he hears you and is with you. Let this shape the way you talk about singleness. Instead of sugarcoating it or selling yourself short, be honest about how tough life without a partner is – after all, God created us as relational beings.
At the same time, model a different way: open to – but not consumed by – dating, attuned to the ways in which God is blessing you in this season of life, and invested in the non-romantic relationships God has given you because they, too, are a gift from him. Above all, and even when your circumstances don’t seem to be changing, praise God’s name because he’s working through every insecurity and rejection for your good and his glory.
Sophie Sanders
Marketing & Communications Lead
This week, how can you best love friends, siblings, or colleagues who are single?