Our worth or value can be established in numerous ways. It can come from relationships or our careers. And whether we like it or not, those things certainly have an influence on our understanding of our worth. As we search for worth and value on this earth, we have a Creator who is constantly trying to remind us that our worth is not tied to what people say or to the things that we do but whose we are.

In Genesis 29 the reader is introduced to a fascinating story with more drama than a daytime talk show. It revolves around four characters: Jacob, Rachel, Laban, and Leah. In short, Jacob discovers Rachel and is smitten. He agrees to work seven years for Laban in order to marry Rachel. However, on the wedding night, Laban switches out Rachel for Leah. This act begins to show us Leah’s value to her father Laban. Laban does not see his daughter Leah as a beautiful creation of God and confirms this by showing that the only way she will be married is through the act of deception. Leah’s story doesn’t end there because we are told over and over that Jacob loves Rachel more. Imagine being in Leah’s day-to-day life where the people around her reminded her that she didn’t matter through their actions and words.

As the people around Leah makes her feel that she was worthless, God tries three times to show her that she has worth. God blesses Leah with three sons but in each Leah reacts out of pain. Leah connects each blessing to the existence that she has come to accept. However, with her fourth child, something changes within Leah. She declares, “This time I will praise the LORD.” This declaration shows that now Leah understands that she has and had worth through God. Her worth is not established through the things that she could do or through words of those around her but already established by her Creator.