18th June 2026

“Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).”
Genesis 35:18 NLT

Everyone has an opinion or a different perception about our lives, but it is the perception of the Creator that matters most.

For some, we may be a sorrow; for others, we may be their whole world. Our value is not diminished just because a few people fail to see how precious we are in God’s eyes.

Pain often gives us labels that God never intended for us to carry.

Rachel, the wife of Jacob, was on a journey when she went into labor with her second son. She experienced severe pain and had a difficult delivery. Before she breathed her last breath, she named him Ben-oni, meaning “son of my sorrow,” because of the hard and painful experience she was going through.

Overwhelmed by suffering, Rachel could not see a life for that baby beyond her current experience. She saw sorrow in his beginning and may have believed that because he was born in sorrow, his life would always be marked by sorrow.

However, the father of the child saw something different. He saw that this son had survived for a reason through hardship and struggle. He saw him as a promise and refused to let the mother’s tragic death define his future.

Jacob had the authority to override the label that pain had spoken and replace it with a name of promise. He renamed him Benjamin, meaning “son of my right hand.”

The biblical metaphor of the right hand represents strength, power, protection, favor, and a place of honor.

The father declared life over his son Benjamin, who later became the ancestor of a tribe that produced influential and mighty leaders in biblical history—from the first king of Israel, Saul, to the great missionary Apostle Paul of the early church.

The mother’s pain gave a label, but the father’s authority gave an identity.

This is true for us even today. Every label that the world places upon us is defeated by the words of our Heavenly Father, who brings life to the hopeless, comfort to the painful, and joy to the sorrowful.

The Heavenly Father sees you as precious and valuable. He values you so deeply that He gave His own Son for you. Through that sacrifice, He renamed your identity, redeemed you from your past, and redefined your future.

Be encouraged today. You are your Father’s delight. Like Benjamin, you are called to carry His favor and bring glory to His name.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that You do not define us by our pain, failures, or the labels others place upon us. Thank You for giving us a new identity through Jesus Christ. Help us to see ourselves through Your eyes and to embrace the future You have prepared for us. Remind us daily that we are loved, valued, redeemed, and called by name for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.