Genesis Chapter 25: verses 21-23 (NLT Translation)
Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins, but the two children struggled with each other in the womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.
And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”
When Isaac and Rebekah were going through trying times, they both independently went to God about them. God answered Isaac’s prayer for children. Rebekah probably didn’t know she was pregnant with twins. After twenty years of trying for a baby, she would be anxious to ensure that the pregnancy went well, so she took her concerns to God and asked Him, “Why is this happening to me?” And God told her.
It’s okay to ask God about things we don’t understand. Sometimes He may give us an explanation, as He did with Rebekah, but He might choose not to. He may also tell us something that we don’t want to hear.
Even Jesus prayed for help when He was troubled on the eve of His crucifixion. He realised that He had to go through the ordeal but we read that as He submitted to the will of His Father, He received the comfort and strength He needed for the things that lay ahead. Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus prayed, “Father if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke Chapter 22 verse 42)
If we go through our own trials, we too will receive the comfort and strength we need to bear them and if God chooses to teach us something through them, as He did with Rebekah, it will be something that we need to hear. One thing He has promised is thar He will never make us face any trial without His comfort and strength.
Dear God,
Thank you for the comfort and strength we receive through the ministry of Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter. May I always come to you when I am struggling. Thank you that You will always meet my need, whether its by answering my questions, or by giving me the strength to persevere.
Thank you that Jesus understands when I feel that way, but most of all I am so grateful that I need never go through hard times on my own. Amen.