Devon Fouch
May 13, 2026
Genesis 29:23-30 NLT – “But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) But when Jacob woke up in the morning, it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” “It’s not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn.” Laban replied. “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel too- provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel too. (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) So Jacob slept with Rachel too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.”
I.) The Perils of Passion
• Passion – 1.) A strong and barely controllable emotion. 2.) An intense desire or enthusiasm for someone or something.
• Passion can make a great servant, but a terrible master.
Matthew 6:20-21 NLT – “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.”
• Jacob had the promise but didn’t trust the process.
• When we chase what excites us, we miss what was assigned to us.
II.) An Identity of Insecurity
• Rachel carried the passion, but Leah carried the purpose.
• A life focused on insecurities is a life blinded to blessings.
• Have we let our pain form an identity of insecurity in us?
• The root of insecurity is misplaced identity.
III.) When Passed Up Becomes Purpose
• Judah – “Praise” or “Be Praised”
Genesis 49:10- “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.”
• Through the line of Judah we get the Lion of Judah!