Provoking Peninah

Today evening something happened that upset me a great deal. I felt so heartbroken and numb. I started sharing about what had happened to one of my best friends on chat. She was really understanding and very sweet and tried her best to make me feel better. But though she was nice, I still continued to feel really bad and I felt I had to take it to God but though my spirit was willing my body was weak.

Even after I logged off chat, I didn’t start praying. I just tried to busy myself in household chores. I hurried around doing the dishes, laundry. But I was still upset and I knew I was beginning to feel depressed as well. Tears were beginning to well up. I knew I had to go to God before I got more upset and broken.

I shut myself in our guest room. I knelt but could not pray. Tears just kept rolling down my cheeks. God understood, of that I was sure but I could not pray. I took out a song book and thought I would just sing a few songs. The important thing was to spend time at God’s feet.
I went to the last song in the song book and started singing whatever songs I knew and felt like singing. Initially I couldn’t sing but as I began singing, God began ministering to me through the songs. After about half an hour of singing, I realized I wasn’t crying anymore and my heart felt so light. I continued singing and God was still ministering to me but now I was also worshipping God with each song. This went on for about an hour and a half. My heart was light again. The problem remained but my focus has shifted from the problem to God.

I thought of reading the Bible for some time. I was reading from 1 Samuel 1 about Elkanah’s two wives – Hannah and Peninah. Hannah was loved more but didn’t have any children.

1 Samuel 1: 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.

We don’t know what exactly turned Peninah against Hannah but we see that Peninah kept provoking her to irritate her. Verse 7 says Peninah provoked her till she wept. This would mean that probably the first time Peninah provoked her, Hannah probably just replied back. The second time maybe she just smiled and then maybe she tried to ignore but this went on and on till Hannah wept. Peninah provoked her till she wept.

Now the important question is how did Hannah handle this? We don’t know if she went to her husband for comfort but the Bible says in verse 8 that her husband did try to make her feel better and he was being real sweet and understanding but that didn’t help Hannah.
Hannah takes the matter to God. She cries herself out to God. She pours herself out to God. She was bitter with sorrow. All that provoking had had its effect on her. But Hannah took the matter in the right way. She took it to God.

1 Samuel 1: 10 - In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.

There were two things that God taught me from this passage.

One, Peninah’s provoking led to Prayer and not to anger. Hannah prayed much with tears. Such prayers move the heart of God. Some of us may have provoking Peninahs in our lives or maybe life itself has becomes one big provoking Peninah. Something or the other is constantly being thrown at you. You try everything but then it just keeps provoking you till it breaks you down and you’re left in tears. How do you react? Does it cause you to be angry with the person? Do you get bitter about life itself? Or like Hannah do you take it to God? Let all provokes lead you to prayer. This has two advantages. One, you’re not angry. Two, God will remove the influence the provoke could have on you or on your life.

Two, this led to the birth of a great leader, Samuel. Since Hannah took all that negativity in the right way, God turned it into something so beautiful. Samuel is one of the greatest leaders in the Bible. It’s almost like how a pearl is formed. A stone gets into the oyster and keeps irritating it, till one day all that irritation converts a worthless stone into a beautiful pearl. If taken to God, all that provoking and irritation can give birth to a beautiful Pearl… to a great Samuel in your life. For a Samuel to be born, a provoking Peninah had to be there.
So next time you are provoked don’t give in to the anger. Take all your sadness and tears and rush to God and pour it out to Him and God will convert all that provoking into something very beautiful.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 - Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
James 5: 16b - The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].