Loved Like Rachel

n this timely message for the start of 2026, Pastor Zach Terry explores the narrative of Genesis 29 to address a deep-seated fear prevalent in our generation: the fear of being unseen, unheard, and unconnected. While we live in a world that often feels built for the "Rachels"—those who fit every cultural standard of beauty and success—most of us can identify more deeply with Leah, the "unpreferred" sister who lived in the shadow of someone else’s favor.

The sermon follows Jacob, the deceiver who reaped what he sowed when he was tricked into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, and Leah’s subsequent struggle to earn her husband's affection. Leah spent years naming her children after her personal pain, hoping that each son would finally make Jacob "see" her or "attach" to her. However, her life was transformed with her fourth son, Judah, when she stopped seeking validation from her husband and shifted her gaze to Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God.

Through Leah’s story, we learn that God is profoundly attracted to the lowly, the humble, and the brokenhearted. This message serves as an invitation to stop the exhausting cycle of comparison and find your identity in a God who sees your unique value. Even if you feel like a "Leah" in the eyes of the world, you are deeply adored and loved like a Rachel by the Almighty.

To understand how God values us, consider the bruised reed: to a musician in the ancient world, a reed that was bruised or cracked was useless for making a flute and would be discarded and trampled. Yet, the sources remind us that Jesus "collects" these bruised reeds, preferring the humble and the broken over the "perfect" reeds of the world, proving that what society discards, God treasures.