Let's face it - there are things in this life that happen to us that we just don't understand. Illnesses, betrayals, brokennesses; they're all there. And it can be hard for us to wrap our minds around how it is that we have a good God who loves us and yet, this. Whatever "this" is.
But one of the good things about our God is that when we don't understand what's happening, He is ready to explain it to us. He is ready to reveal what He's working on, how He's working in our lives, and what is going to come out of whatever this thing is that has us confused right now. Whatever we don't understand, God already intimately knows, and if we want to know more, we can simply ask.
That's what Rebekah did when she became pregnant.
She could feel something not-quite-right about what was going on in her womb, though she didn't know what that thing was or why it was happening. Genesis tells us that she felt the babies struggling inside of her (whether she knew it was two babies or thought it was just one). The struggle was real. So she cried out - Why is this happening to me?
Then, God answered her: because there are two babies inside of you, and they are struggling with each other, just as they will do once they are born. They will struggle with each other their whole lives and become two different nations, two different peoples. One will always be stronger; the other, weaker. This is who I, the Lord, have ordained them to be.
Ah, makes sense.
God's answer didn't change the struggle that was happening. It didn't change the truth about who Jacob and Esau were or would become. It didn't change the promise that they would divide one household into two nations. Nothing about the promise of God - which is always good - changed. But Rebekah's heart did. Her understanding deepened. Her question was answered.
God was good to tell her what was going on, simply because she asked.
When the struggle is real and you don't understand what's going on, ask God.
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