Leah’s Story: Unattractive Yet Favored
Her Value Wasn’t in Her Face, But in Her Faith.
A Mother Is A Special Woman – Part 6.1
You, like Leah, have something that most people would ignore. When your world looks the other way, God leans in.
Leah was unattractive when compared to her sister, yet she was fulfilled. I don’t mean that in an ugly way when I say unattractive; rather, Leah felt unattractive. She was the older sister of the attractive Rachel, and Jacob, who later became her husband, was the one who was essentially given Leah by her father, Laban because no one else wanted to marry her.
“[T]he LORD saw that Leah was unloved…” [1]
Do you ever feel like a woman or a mother that no one wanted? Do you sometimes struggle with feelings of being unattractive? If so, I want to share some encouraging insights you could be missing from Leah’s story.
If you know Leah from the Bible, many recognize her as unloved, yet she was also incredibly fruitful. She was a result producer with the skills to be a wife and a mother. Despite feeling unattractive and unloved, Leah possessed something that many ignore: the love of God. She had something that most people would ignore. God blessed her abundantly, and that blessing made her fruitful. [1] She produced significant results, yet her perception of herself didn’t align with her reality. What was inside didn’t match what was outside. I hope that none of you (mothers) feel unloved or unattractive in this way, but if you do, I want you to be encouraged.
Let me tell you just how fruitful Leah was. She gave birth to her first four sons, and these sons became four of the twelve tribes of Israel. Remarkably, Leah was the mother of one-third of the nation we know as Israel. Here, we have a woman who felt unloved and unattractive but still produced a great nation. Later in life, she bore two additional sons and a daughter. Leah was credited with producing half of the twelve tribes of Israel, making her integral to the nation. She planned a significant role along with Jacob in helping to fulfill the promise made to Abraham—the blessing of Abraham. Despite her role and fruitfulness, she felt unloved and unattractive. I hope you are reminded that God has a plan for you, regardless of how you may feel.
Leah’s feelings caused her to name all six of her children based on her emotions, which shows that her feelings deeply affected her. I want to encourage every mother: don’t allow your emotions to overwhelm you. What you’ve been producing is remarkable. If you could truly see the impact of your efforts (what God sees), you would forget the emotional baggage, trauma, or thoughts that make you feel like you’re not measuring up. You are actually overachieving and exceeding expectations.
Leah named her children out of her emotional struggles with Jacob’s love and even with God’s for her. The key takeaway is don’t miss what God has been doing to you because there’s some polluted thinking that you need to let go of. You might feel unattractive and unworthy, yet you have proven that you are incredibly worthy and most attractive.
“When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister.” [2] If Leah had only known that her sister, considered more attractive, would envy her ability to bear children, she might have laughed at the idea. It’s hard to believe she could be envied, yet she was—and she produced half of the sons who formed half of the nation of Israel.
You might not believe it, but others envy you, just as Leah was envied. What you have and who you are are catching the attention of others; don’t miss that.
[1] Genesis 29:31 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 8, 2025, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.29.31.NLT
[2] Genesis 30:1 NLT, Bible.com, accessed May 9, 2025, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.30.1.NLT
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
You must be logged in to post a comment.