Today’s Bible Verse
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:19-23 (NKJV)
Through the Veil
Veils are a traditional garment for brides to wear as they walk down the aisle. Traditionally, as we observe in the story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, the veil completely covered the bride so that she was not able to be seen at all until the consummation of the marriage was complete (Genesis 29:21-25 NKJV). While this was meant to symbolize modesty and purity, it was used in this particular story, not for good, but evil.
In this account, Jacob was expecting to marry his dream girl, Rachel. Instead, he got her older sister, Leah. There are a lot of ways we could look at this story, but let’s look at it from Leah’s experience. We see in the Bible that Leah was the older sister, who by custom, should’ve been married first. She was probably feeling a sense of inadequacy, jealousy, and shame because her younger sister was chosen before her.
We might also speculate that she had to battle thoughts of not being beautiful, having very little to offer a man. There could have also been feelings of guilt for having gone along with her father’s plan to deceive Jacob into marrying her first.
Leah could have also felt used and rejected because her marriage to Jacob was just a means to an end, so he could marry the one he wanted. Can you imagine that instead of that veil symbolizing her purity, her veil carried issues of immorality, rejection, and depravity to say the least?
I was like Leah. My wounds began when I was teased by my family members. I had been called “chubby” growing up, and I thought I was obese. I was actually not overweight but not as small as those I grew up with. Those words spoken of me caused me to believe a lie, that I was fat. This distorted self-image lead to a lot of self-inflicting pain as I attempted to find my fit, myself, and life.
In my middle school years, I did some crazy things to hide behind the hurt. For example, I had acne on my forehead, so I attempted to create bangs to cover the acne. That haircut turned out to be a mess, and I truly began to “feel” uglier. The thief dug deeper, ripping me off of my true identity.
So what does an ugly person do but look for approval from others? That’s what I did. These choices only escalated into a more hopeless state. The spirit of pride overtook my heart, and I began to feel like I needed to defend myself by building walls. My eyes were indeed covered with an evil veil.
My conduct was so out of control. The enemy used me for evil. Looking back, it was only by the grace of God that I am still standing. Long story short, I ended up inviting myself to church. I searched for a person who had mentioned that she was a Christian years prior. I began to read the Bible, and I allowed the Bible to read me. Boy was my heart exposed.
I learned through the book of Proverbs that I was living like a self-confident fool. My shameful character was nothing to be proud of. My senior pastors, Art and Kuna Sepulveda imparted the Truth that helped me immensely to renew my thinking and thus my lifestyle. I seriously began “tasting” and experiencing the love of God. The broken pieces were being restored. (Pastor Darlene Tsuha)
My Life of Faith
If we continue to read Leah’s story, we learn that the Father loved her immensely, and she was honored in a special way. In Genesis 29:35, we learn that she becomes the mother of Judah. Judah eventually begets Jesus Christ. Wow! What a lineage and legacy! Nothing short of generational Kingdom blessings! God truly had a plan and purpose for Leah’s life, just as He does for your life and mine.
Over the years of training and discipleship, I am now a leader in God’s church adding to the lineage of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be a woman of faith-filled influence, (discipled by my leader, Pastor Kuna) who will continue Jesus’ legacy through passing on the message of Christ!
Today’s Declaration
Dear God, I enter Your presence by the Blood of Jesus. By a new and living way which You consecrated for me, through the veil, that is, Your flesh crucified on the Cross. I call upon You, Jesus Christ, my High Priest. I am so grateful that I may draw near to You with a true heart in full assurance of faith. My heart is sprinkled from an evil conscience, and my body is washed with pure water.
Thank You for opening my eyes to see that the enemy desires an evil, cursed life for me, but God, You desire to enlarge my borders to be a blessed woman of influence. I realize, repent of, and renounce any veils over my “eyes” that I’ve tolerated to dictate my life.
I speak against those veils of sin, depression, regret, hurt, pride, offense, or anger, etc. I am desperate to be delivered from the bondages of the enemy. I hold fast my confession of my hope without wavering, for as You have done it for Leah, You will do for me because You are my faithful God.
By Your grace, I am confident that I am the bride of Christ and will receive full restoration from You to be that beautiful, empowered woman of faith-filled influence for generations to come. And yes, as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord! In Jesus’ Name. Amen!
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: Ezekiel 31-32; Job 11
- New Testament: John 10:11-21; 1 John 2:18-23
