Quick Charge Your Faith - Order

Understanding the rule of order in God's Kingdom on Earth.

“It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.” — Genesis 29:26 (KJV)

Do you remember the story of Jacob and Laban in the book of Genesis? Jacob thought he had served his time. He worked seven long years for the hand of Rachel—his joy, his desire, his prize. But on the morning after the wedding feast, he awoke to a different reality. It was not Rachel beside him, but Leah. When he confronted Laban, the older man shrugged and said, “It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.”

Laban’s motive was self-serving, but the words in this passage carry a deeper meaning. In the kingdom of God, there is an order to the blessings of grace. The things we long for—comfort, joy, assurance—are not fully realized apart from the path God has ordained. And often, we misunderstand how that works.

We want the Rachel of rejoicing before we’ve endured the Leah of repentance. We want peace without struggle, clarity without confusion, heaven without holiness. But the Lord has designed it differently. First the cross. Then the crown.

The old preacher Charles Spurgeon once said it plainly: “Everyone falls in love with happiness… but the Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained.”

That’s where many of us grow weary. We meet a Laban in our lives—a person, a hardship, a delay—and assume it’s unjust. We feel cheated by life, or even by God. “I’ve paid my dues,” we say. “What did I do to deserve this?”

But Laban reminds us—unintentionally—that God’s order cannot be bypassed. Even when others act out of bad motives, God uses their detours to shape our devotion. The question is not how to get around Laban, but how to walk faithfully through the disappointment.

Scripture affirms this order again and again. “If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). Jesus Himself taught us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness—not ease, not emotional highs, but the higher path of obedience.

Jacob’s story reminds us of something beautiful: “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” (Genesis 29:20, ESV).

When our labor is shaped by love for Christ, even trials lose their bitterness. The discipline of holiness becomes sweeter. The patience required becomes strength of character. And joy—when it finally arrives—is richer because we didn’t skip the steps God appointed.

So don’t rush past Leah. Don’t despise the Labans in your story too quickly. Sometimes the very people who frustrate us become the instruments God uses to remind us that we are not yet finished.

Repentance may come first and joy may come second—but in the end, both are given in Christ, and the feast will make the wait worthwhile.

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