Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 15, Genesis 29-30
“When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.’
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.’ And she called his name Simeon.
Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore she called his name Judah.
Then she ceased bearing.”
– Genesis 29:31-35
Leah viewed her first three sons as tools to get her husband to love her.
Son #1: Now my husband will love me.
Son #2: The Lord has heard that I am hated.
Son #3: Now my husband will be attached to me.
Yet, it’s Leah’s fourth son, Judah, the son whose name means praise, the son whose birth brought Leah to say, “THIS TIME I WILL PRAISE THE LORD,” whom God chose to father the line of Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son and the Savior of the World,
Friends, think about this: it wasLeah, the unloved wife, whom God chose to bear Judah.
I remember my own time of marital pains and infertility. Reading this story about Leah is such an encouragement to me.
God has purpose both in our fertility and in our barrenness. May we bring Him glory in both!
Are you feeling unloved today? I’ve been there. But so has Jesus. He knows how it feels to be rejected by those who were supposed to love Him. And Jesus, the Great I Am, loves you. He is worth a thousand times more than the most perfect husband or a thousand imperfect sons.
Let me pray over you.
Heavenly Father,
You are close to the broken-hearted. You are the God who remains faithful when man is faithless. You love the unloved and the unloveable, the poor, the lonely, the rejected.
You are the good shepherd who pursues His lost sheep.
I pray that we would praise You when life is easy, and we would praise You when life is hard. No matter what, You are worthy of our praise!
We offer our hearts, minds, wombs, and lives to You. Father, fill them as You will in Your perfect timing and for Your perfect purposes. Help us to trust You with our hearts and our hurts.
In the name of Jesus our Savior and King we pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 8, Genesis 16.
“And Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.”
– Genesis 16:2 ESV
Why, oh why, did Abram listen to his wife?
If only he had said, “No, Sarai. We must trust the Lord and wait upon Him. He is the generous giver of everything good. He will give us a child in His timing.”
It reminds me of Genesis 3 when Adam chose to listen to the voice of Eve rather than trusting and obeying God.
“And to Adam, [God] said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;'”
– Genesis 3:17 ESV
Both Adam and Abram faced lifelong consequences from their decision to heed their wives’ poor counsel.
Wives, we need to be very careful what we say to our husbands. Our husbands will so often go along with our suggestions – or demands – because they trust us, or they want to make us happy, or they just want to make us stop complaining. We need to recognize the power we have in our marriages and consider carefully the consequences of the words we speak.
Will you join me in praying for our husbands (and ourselves) today?
Heavenly Father, You are a good God who loves to give good gifts to Your children. Your timing is always perfect. Please help us to trust You. Help us to wait patiently for Your perfect gifts. Let us not grow weary of doing good. Let us not give way to unbelief and doubt. Instead, give us the strength we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and to wait patiently for His salvation. Help us to be godly helpers who seek our husband’s good and Your glory.
Please forgive us for all those times when we have gone astray and even led our husbands astray. We repent of our selfishness and pride.
We lift our husbands before You. We pray that they will cast all of their cares onto You and have faith to believe that You care for them. Let them not grow weak-kneed or cowardly. Help them to stand strong against temptation, especially when that temptation comes from our own lips.
In the name of Jesus, our faithful Lord and Savior, we pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 30; Genesis 1-2
I like to read Genesis one and two together because I see Genesis chapter two as an expansion of the account of the creation of man in chapter 1. There’s so much in these two chapters that I read both of them together, two days in a row.
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
– Genesis 2:18-24 ESV
God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, so He wanted to give Adam a helper who was fit for him. Not just any helper would do. He didn’t just need the strength of an ox or the beauty of a peacock or the loyalty of a dog. No, Adam needed a suitable helper, designed especially for man, and so God gave him a woman.
Being a helper is a gift to both the man and the woman. The man needs the woman … And the woman needs the man. They both have been given very important jobs.
God always has such perfect timing. When I initially wrote this devotional in January of 2023, I was visiting my parents hundreds of miles away from my husband, and I thought about how much my husband misses me when I’m gone. Yes, he misses me cooking and cleaning for him. Yes, he misses me making his morning coffee. Whether he missed them or not, I knew he needed my help in the little reminders I give and the times I’m an extra set of hands in the projects he’s working on. But I was especially struck by the thought that what he misses most is my company, simply having someone to talk to and share life with.
It is good to be needed and missed.
It’s a blessing to be created to be a helper.
Now, in 2025, as I reflect again on Genesis 1-2, my husband and I just celebrated our 30th anniversary, our daughter just got engaged, and our youngest son is preparing to graduate from homeschooling through high school and go away to college this fall.
I’m again reminded how careful we most be to not allow our children to take our husband’s place. Children are made from the seed of their father, not from his rib … or yours.
Children are created to leave their parents, but husbands and wives are created to become one flesh until they are parted by death.
Sisters, don’t leave your husband in the dust while you’re attending to your babies. Those babies are going to grow up and move away, but your husband will be by your side for the rest of his life. He needs you, and you need to be needed. Make sure you keep your children and your husband in their rightful places in your hearts, minds, and lives.
I speak from personal experience. This is hard, but it can be done. Here are a few ideas I’ve learned (and am still learning) over my 30 years of marriage.
Schedule regular dates with your husband to keep those flames of friendship burning.
Look for something small that you can do to serve your husband every day – make him a cup of coffee or write him a little note or send him a text over lunch.
Express to your husband (and others) how grateful you are for him. Let them know how much they mean to you and how much you value them.
Keep a careful watch over your thought life. Complaining thoughts turn into complaining attitudes and complaining words. Nothing works more powerfully against your marriage than having a complaining spirit. When those thoughts (true though they might be) come into your mind, grab hold of them and replace them with the truths of hope and grace found at the foot of the cross.
Make praying for your husband a priority. Ask God to bless him and guide him. Check out this video to a wonderful prayer for your husband – from his head to his feet.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You so much for the gift that my husband is. Thank You for making me his helper. Thank You for making him such that he needed me. And thank You for making me fit for him.
Help me to recognize the blessing it is to be needed. I pray that I would make my husband a priority in my life. Help me to do him good and not harm all the days of his life. Help me to submit myself willingly and cheerfully to him, and to trust You, Lord, in the process.
Father, help me not to grow weary of doing good and to trust that in due season I will reap a harvest if I do not lose heart.
I pray that You would bless my husband with every spiritual blessing according to the riches of Your glory in Christ Jesus. I pray that You would take care of him physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Give him the strength and wisdom that he needs to lead our family and give him the humility that he needs to turn to You in his weakness.
I pray also for my married children and their spouses. Make the men servant leaders and the women responsive helpers. Give them a deep love for Your Word and Your church. Show them their need for a savior and grant them the humility they need to live daily in love with the sinner they married.
I pray also for my not-yet-married children and their someday-spouses. Help them to guard their hearts, for they are the wellspring of life. Protect them, body, mind, and spirit, for Your glory and their good. May these days and years be used to prepare them to be a humble leader or a humble helper, to be fit for one another and for Your kingdom.
In the good and gracious name of Jesus Christ , my Savior and my Lord, I pray.
Amen.
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Teach What is Good 