Seasons of Pause

 

Let us return to the topic of Leah who had established a unique relationship with God. As you may recall, she yearned for the love of her husband, but God had provided her with a different type of love; He blessed her womb, and she bore her husband, Jacob, four sons.

Each of Leah’s sons bore a name that reflected her circumstances at their time of birth. Their names told her story.

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing. – Genesis 29:35 (ESV)

Leah declared, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Yet after this birth Leah “ceased bearing”. How curious. Everything seemed to be going so well; what could have happened? The bible doesn’t answer this question.

Leah, despite her loveless marriage, had experienced years of favour; to have conceived four times was a blessing which clearly exceeded her expectations since it caused her to erupt in praises to the Lord.

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re doing so well, then suddenly nothing seems to be go right? Seasons when reasons for this change in your circumstances prove elusive.

In times like these, when God appears to have gone silent, you begin to lapse into doubt, and uncertainty, questioning your life and even your connection to God.

Beloved, we never anticipate seasons of pause and from what we read in chapter 30, neither did Leah.

When life comes to a screeching halt, we tend to search for an explanation, not quite understanding that from time to time a pause is necessary.

Desperate and determined to get out of the rut, and with God seemingly distant, we decide to take matters into our own hands. Oh, how easily we forget our this-time-I-will-praise-the-Lord declaration.

“But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed. They know that the Lord will do what he says. They will be strong like trees planted near a stream that send out roots to the water. They have nothing to fear when the days get hot. Their leaves are always green. They never worry, even in a year that has no rain. They always produce fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ERV)

The heat of drought can cause us to look for alternative sources of water.

Leah’s womb had once been fruitful. This was the advantage she held over her sister. Her fruitfulness in childbearing gave her perceived favour with Jacob. These four boys were her trump card but now this season of pause had placed her in an undesirable position.

To be unloved was difficult enough, to produce no fruit was devastating. Leah had hoped that these sons would secure Jacob’s love for her, but his affections still lay elsewhere. And with this twist, those hopes were dashed.

Like Leah, we also view seasons of pause as a sign that our communion with God has been lost. We become so fixated on our hopes being dashed that we fail to remember all that God has already done for us.

In Psalm 63:6, 7 (AMP) we read,

When I remember You on my bed, I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,
For You have been my help…

Too often in times of nothing happening, instead of remembering God, we impatiently chart our own course. Leah was no different. In her mind, her validation and worth were tied to her ability to bear children and when that stopped, rather than yield to prayer as she had done before, she devised her own solution.

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing [children], she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a [secondary] wife. – Genesis 30:9 (AMP)

Leah did not only cease bearing children, she ceased relying on God and the unique relationship she had with Him. Leah clung more to what she did than to who she was in God.

Isn’t that just like us though? We get so wrapped up in what we do – our positions, our jobs, our careers and our roles – that when that is taken away, we feel that our identity has also gone.

Whether you hold a position or not, your purpose is for God’s glory. Leah may have forgotten that.

We are meant to wait on God during seasons of pause, not resort to our own solutions to our perceived barrenness.

Beloved, seasons of pause are not punishment for anything you may or may not have done but are necessary for your overall spiritual development as God continues, in silence, to perfect and complete the good work He began in you (Philippians 1:6).

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Seasons of Pause” © September 29, 2025