Scripture
Genesis 35:17-18
“And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “don’t despair, for you have another son.” As she breathed her last-for she was dying-she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.”
Observation
Rachel was dying. Labor had been hard, and the available medical care was simply inadequate. She apparently knew this was the end of the road, and named her son ‘Ben-Oni’, meaning “son of my trouble.” Jacob must have also been in great grief, but he stepped in to change the child’s name to Benjamin, meaning “son of my right hand.”
The grief, the fear, and the trouble were all real…but it was not the child’s burden to carry.
Application
There are stresses, weights, fears, and grief that I must carry from time to time. Sometimes they might even be caused by my children. It can be easy to dump my burden on my family, and put that emotional weight on them if I’m not careful. With God’s help, I need to avoid dumping that weight on them. God is my rock and my strength, and my relationship with my sons needs to be one of encouraging them and building them up-not of me dumping my load on their shoulders.
This week, I need to speak life into my children–and release my troubles to God.
Prayer
God, thank you for my sons! Help me to daily speak life and encouragement into them, instead of carelessly dumping my emotional weight and trouble on them.
Thank you for giving me strength for each season!
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