The Art of Thankfulness.

This week I've been revisiting Genesis. It always makes me surprised when people say that the Bible is boring, because Genesis is wild.

Anyway... I was reading about Jacob, and his two wives. Rachel was his favourite, and he got tricked into marrying Leah, who he didn't care about.

Genesis 29:31-35
"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, 'it is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.'
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, 'Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.' So she named him Simeon.
Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, 'Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.' So he was named Levi.
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, 'This time I will praise the Lord.' So she named him Judah.

Then she stopped having children."

 I personally think that when reading the Old Testament, we must be aware that it talks about life under the old promise that God had with his people - not the new one that we live in after Jesus changed everything.

However, we can definitely draw some important lessons from the Old Testament, and this is why I wanted to share this story.

Leah was chasing after love from her husband, and she couldn't see past her desire for this - it made her miserable. God kept blessing her, giving her what she needed to be joyful, but she couldn't accept it because she was till striving to earn her husband's love.

God was developing in her a thankful spirit despite her circumstances, and  it is only when she makes the conscious choice to rejoice and thank God that his purpose is fulfilled in her.

I think that this reveals some of God's heart towards us his children:

He is a patient and gentle teacher - Leah didn't get the message straightaway, she had four sons before she learnt to be thankful. God didn't give up, he kept blessing her because he knew her character perfectly, and understood what was necessary for her to learn.

 He wants us to be happy - He saw Leah's misery, and that was not what he had planned for. When we learn the art of thankfulness, it breaks our attitude of misery and teaches us how to be content.