Closed on Purpose

I don’t like hearing no when I want a yes. I despise the word wait. Especially when I want it now. At times, I can be a 2-year-old-acting-33-year-old. I want my way at whatever cost. But abhorrent things like disappointments, frustrations, and set-backs constantly remind me I’m not in control. Have you ever experienced that?

Rachel certainly had. Genesis 29:31 says, “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”  Leah, at this time, had already bore Jacob 4 sons. Surely Rachel was looking around wondering, “When’s my time going to come?” She even became jealous and brought her concern to Jacob.

As if he was intentionally withholding babies from her, she demanded, “Give me children, or else I die.” Kinda dramatic, don’t you think? I mean she’s talking to the guy who worked 7 long years for her only to have the unloved, unchosen sister switched at matrimony. But because he loved her so much, he worked an additional 7 years for her. 14 years in total! If there was anyone with whom he wanted children, it was Rachel. The desire was not the issue. The timing was.

What she failed to realize is what we often fail to understand as well. God reigns sovereign over every situation. He alone is in control. And because He knows the end from the beginning, He understands that disappointment now is worth it to ultimately accomplish an unbelievable plan later.

Rachel looked at her circumstances and saw a physical condition. A closed womb, barrenness, infertility. And infertility primarily brings to mind a medical condition, the inability to get pregnant. It carries social and societal stigmas, especially in her culture. These days, it may be addressed by physical means: medications, surgery, or procedures like in vitro fertilization. We often sympathize with the emotional toll that diagnosis can bring.

But, rarely do we consider that God is sovereignly closing a womb for a specific purpose. Jacob’s response shows his perspective on this matter in Genesis 30:2. “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” In other words, I’m not in the place of authority to decide when or if you become pregnant. That’s God’s jurisdiction, not mine.

Rachel approached Jacob with a physical/medical problem. He responded with a spiritual answer. That’s unconventional. But only if we miss the connection between the physical and the spiritual. If our focus remains solely on the physical, what we see (barren womb) instead of the spiritual we don’t see (God causing it for His purposes), we blame the wrong people and never identify God at work.

Genesis 29:31 is clear. God opened Leah’s womb and God closed Rachel’s womb…on purpose. But why? Why take Rachel through witnessing the births of 10 sons by way of her sister, her sister’s maid and her own personal maid without giving her her first child? Why chain her with the emotional baggage of watching everyone around her get pregnant multiple times without just one of her own? Surely she didn’t deserve such turmoil.

Let’s examine the record and find why God would intentionally close her womb.

Joseph would be her first son. Consider for a moment Joseph’s story. He was born the 11^th son of Jacob. That’s an incidental detail unless you consider this late ranking in birth order lended itself to him being the favored son by Jacob. Perhaps he was so highly loved and valued because 1) he was the son of his old age, 2) he was the first son of his beloved Rachel, and 3) let’s face it, we value more what we have to wait for. The favoritism shown toward Joseph coupled with his divine dreams caused a rift in his brotherly relationships. So much so, they wanted to kill him, yet decided last minute to sell him instead. That caravan took him to Egypt.

After a series of events, Joseph became second in command in Egypt. In that role, he was instrumental in preserving the lives of countless numbers of Egyptians and those of surrounding nations. That position also afforded him the opportunity and authority to provide for those same evil-intented brothers and their families during the 7-year famine. Because his brothers’ lives were preserved, they went on to comprise the tribes of Israel. One specific brother’s tribe, Judah, would produce a line of descendants through which, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world would be born. Our access to salvation today is connected to Rachel being forced to wait. Her closed womb ultimately produced an open door for us.

Rachel, in her agony, impatience, and despair, couldn’t have predicted that chain of events. She couldn’t have anticipated those far-reaching results. All she saw was her current circumstances. All she felt was inadequate, left out, and probably unloved by Jacob or by God. But God’s intent was never to make her feel this way. It was always simply to accomplish His intended plan through her son she was forced to wait for.

It’s interesting to me how short-sighted I can be at times. I think if my plan hasn’t materialized yet, I’m missing out, the window of opportunity is closing. I’m inadequate, forgotten, left out. What God is trying to get me to see is His timing is always perfect. The right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing. What seems so trivial as being denied what I want when I want it, is really God setting me up for what He purposed all along.

What challenges are you facing today? What disappointments have you experienced? Could it be that God is using that challenge or that disappointment to prepare you for your “Joseph”? Perhaps He wants to use the “Nos” and “Waits” of our lives to:

• Develop our character to handle the coming blessing

• Teach us patience

• Produce gratitude and contentment for what we already have

• Humble us to understand we are dependent on Him

• Help us realize He is in control, not us

• Show us His timing is perfect and His plan is best

Identify what’s barren in your life. What are you believing God for? Maybe it’s an actual desire for a child. Patiently wait on God. Perhaps it’s a dream, a goal, or a deferred hope you thought you would have obtained by now. Trust God’s impeccable timing. For singles, especially around this time of year, it may be a desire for a mate. I implore you to depend on God’s sovereign timing in this area…it has generational repercussions.

If indeed your personal “Joseph” is on the way, be thankful for the temporarily closed womb now. God loves us enough to delay certain blessings to us because He has definite purpose through us that can’t be thwarted by hurt feelings or disappointments in the present.

Understand God closed that door on purpose. He blocked that way for a reason. He detoured that route and redirected you with intention.

That relationship was not supposed to work out. That college was supposed to say no. That job was supposed to downsize you. That business deal was supposed to fall through. That illness was meant to happen. Why?

So that we can realize, like Jacob:

• We are not in the place of God. We don’t have His comprehensive knowledge or His final authority.

• We are wholly dependent upon Him to direct the course of our lives

Romans 8:28 reminds us that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
So the next time you’re tempted to complain about a closed door, blame someone because of a missed opportunity, or pout about a disappointing experience, remember Rachel. And instead identify ways to thank God for the foresight to use those negative circumstances to guide you to His divine purpose.

It’s worth it to wait on God’s timing…we don’t know all He has in store.