Do you ever compare yourself to other moms?

These two sisters did, and it didn’t help that they also had to share a husband!

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Recently I posted a blog and podcast about Rebekah and shared that her story was not one you want to follow as a mom. Continuing with this story, we see Rebekah’s son Jacob was sent away to her brother Laban’s house due to some bad advice she gave him. (Go back and read/listen here.) Once Jacob was settled in at the house of his uncle Laban, He fell in in love with one of his daughters and wanted to marry her. However, as the story goes in the Bible, we learn that he ended up marrying BOTH of Laban’s daughters. As you probably already guessed—this doesn’t turn out well! Two sisters marrying the same man is a recipe for disaster!

The backstory: Jacob fell in love with the beautiful Rachel and wanted to marry her. Rachel’s father, Laban, promised her to Jacob if he first agreed to work for him for 7 years. That’s a long time to wait, but Jacob agreed. Once the 7 years was up, Laban is tricky, (much like his sister Rebekah—Poor Jacob can’t catch a break!) and he had his older daughter Leah disguise herself in Rachel’s wedding garments and marry Jacob instead! I’m sure it was a shock to Jacob when he woke up the morning after the wedding to see his new bride was Leah and not Rachel! But at this point it was too late to take the marriage back. Who ever said the Bible doesn’t have drama?!

Imagine how Rachel, the beautiful bride-to-be must have felt when her father Laban pulled her from the wedding she had been planning and waiting on for 7 years! Then she had to watch her sister marry the man she loved!

Now what about Leah? She was always referred to as the the unmarried older sister, who did not measure up to the great beauty her baby sister was. On top of this, she was forced by her own father to trick Jacob into marrying her, after she had watched him work everyday for 7 YEARS to marry her sister!

When Jacob confronted Laban, he told Jacob he would give Rachel to marry him too, but he had to agree to work 7 more years! So now here we are, these sisters both married to the same man, and it’s no wonder there is jealousy and comparison weaved all throughout this story!

Rachel was filled with bitterness and obsessed with wanting a child, as she watched Leah have son after son, and she couldn’t even get pregnant! Then we have Leah that longed to be loved and looked at the way Jacob looked at Rachel, and that’s why she had baby after baby, to try and win his love and affection! Both sisters filled with hurt and always wanting what the other one had.

Does this sound familiar? Not that you and your sister share the same husband, (thank goodness!) but the world is always telling us that we need MORE! A bigger bank account, a better house, beautiful family pictures perfect selfies to post of all the cool places we’ve been, especially on social media! As if to tell us that when we have all of this, we will be happy and content, but that is a lie from the devil himself. If we place our value on these things, it will never be enough! But the Bible says the exact opposite…It says that you and I are prone to compare outward appearances, but God sees our hearts.

Pastor Adrian Rogers said it like this:

“The only truly satisfied people in this world are the ones who’ve let go of this world

and taken hold of Jesus Christ with both hands.”

Meaning, true contentment doesn’t fall into the comparison trap. It doesn’t come from your circumstances, or your following on social media. True contentment is found in Jesus Christ, alone!

Want to see a mom that has it going on?! A woman that isn’t looking around at everyone else for what she should do next. Look where she spends her time. Is she lost in hours of Netflix or on her phone, reminding her of all the love, the money or the beauty she doesn’t have? NO! She is spending her time thinking on the truth of God’s word and being present with her family.

Rachel and Leah were constantly obsessing over the children they didn’t have, or the beauty and love they didn’t have. They were focused on the outward things and comparing themselves to one another for what they thought they had to have to be happy!

It was only when they got over the jealously and comparing themselves to each other, that the Lord chose to bless them. In Genesis 29:35, Leah said: “This time I will praise the Lord.” She was pregnant with her 4th son, Judah, and realized it was time to let go of trying to make Jacob love her and being jealous of her sister. She knew that God loved her and that was enough, so even if Jacob didn’t choose her, God did! And He chose to bring the line of Jesus through her son Judah. (That’s a pretty amazing gift!)

Rachel also surrendered to the Lord about not being able to have a baby, after watching her sister have so many. She stops turning to Jacob for security. She stops being fueled by bitterness and chooses to trust the Lord. That is when God blessed her with her first son that she named Jospeh. You probably know Joseph from his coat of many colors and being sold by his own brothers into slavery, but Jospeh would end up forgiving them and saving the entire nation of Israel!

So look what God can do when you TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF OTHERS AND PLACE THEM ON THE LORD?!

Matthew 6:33 says:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

We have to get our eyes off of the world and on to the Lord to experience true peace and contentment!

A recent 2021 study revealed that the average mom spends 4 hours and 16 minutes daily on the internet and social media. No wonder anxiety is at an all time high, and we are constantly comparing ourselves to others! So if you are thinking to yourself right now, I’m that average mom you referred to spending 4 hours a day consuming media, and I know the anxiety you’re talking about. When you look in the mirror are you content with what you see?

Are you tired of feeling like you don’t measure up or can’t keep up with other families around you? Asking, “What can I do? I want to stop playing the comparison game, but I feel like I’m in a trap.”

Well, here are 3 things to focus on:

Pick up your Bible every morning, before you pick up your phone! You might need some accountability for this one, so ask a friend to commit to do this with you & then hold each other to it!
Put in what you want to come out!
1. The Bible says in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
2. You have to think on these things, so that’s what comes out of you when you’re squeezed! Because your kids will try their best to squeeze, so you can be ready!
Spend time with a friend you know will lift you up and challenge you spiritually!

I want to end with this Adrian Rogers quote again:

“The only truly satisfied people in this world are the ones who’ve let go of this world and taken hold of Jesus Christ with both hands.”

The message that this quote above came from is called the “Secret to Satisfaction” and is FREE to listen to with our ministry partner LOVE WORTH FINDING:

The Secret to Satisfaction message: https://www.lwf.org/sermons/audio/the-secret-of-satisfaction-1864
The Secret of Satisfaction Bible Study: https://www.lwf.org/products/the-secret-of-satisfaction-bible-study-bss126

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#1— Leave a comment and share this blog link with your mom friends…That will helps so much!

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