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].

IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS

At some point or the other in our lives we are faced with situations which I would like to call the ‘Impossible Situations’. Situations where you cannot turn this way or that. Situations which don’t seem to have a solution. Situations where your choices are the frying pan and the fire. Situations where you feel you are stuck and it looks like things can only get worse after this. In an impossible situation, man can do nothing. It’s an impossible situation, remember.

Well the good news is – With God all things are possible.

There are a few things God has been teaching me which I thought would be a good idea to share.

1. Keep the Vision
Jacob works for Laban, his uncle, who tries to make him work without giving him his wages. Since Jacob asks for all the specked and spotted goats as his wages, Laban, being the shrewd person he is, removes all the male spotted goats and female goats and keeps them separately so that they don’t breed and Jacob does not get his wages. There is no way Jacob can get his wages now.

This turns out to be an impossible situation for Jacob.

It’s interesting to see how Jacob handles this situation. He takes branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and makes white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. He then places these in front of the flock.

He places the VISION of speckled and spotted in front of plain goats.

All of us have our visions, our dreams. It could be something that we desire to do or something God has put in our hearts or something God spoke to us about. We all have our dreams we hold onto. Don’t let go of the dreams God gave you. When faced with an impossible situation, Keep your dreams and vision in front of you. So that every time you eat or drink or work or rest you dream is always there before you.

Jacob placed the vision in front of the speckled goats and God works out a miracle and the plain goats gave birth to speckled goats.

Joseph held onto to the dream God gave him. His brothers were envious of him, he was sold as a slave, lies were told about him, was thrown into the prison….. But through it all, he held on to his dreams. And God brought his dreams to reality and lifted him high and honored him.

Hold on to the dreams God gave you. Irrespective of whatever is happening in your life today. Irrespective of what the world has to say. Don’t see things as they are in the present. See through the eyes of faith and See what God has in store for you. Hold on to the vision God gave you and God WILL work a miracle for you.

2. Look Up
Abraham and Lot’s herdsmen had strife about where their livestock would feed. When Abraham comes to know about this he asks Lot to choose whichever land he wanted and he would take whatever was remaining. Lot looks around and chose the green land. After Lot had departed, Abraham Looked Up. He Looked Up to God.

When caught up in impossible situations, Look Up to God. Spend time in prayer, pouring your heart out to God. If you don’t feel like sitting at one place and praying, you could pray as you walk, as you go about your chores. Stay connected to God and pour your heart out to Him. And read God’s word to see what He has to say to you.

Don’t look at the situation. Don’t look at the people who put you in the problem. Don’t look up at any human being for help. Look Up to God alone.

God says to Abraham in Genesis 13: 14 to look to the north, south, east, west and God promises to give him all the land his eyes could see. When we decide to Look Up then God comes into the impossible situation and blesses us.

3. Stop Looking Around (Keep On Looking Up)
Sometimes though we start with Looking Up, somewhere along the way, our focus shifts to the situation around us. This can bring us down and depress us. But we need to remember to shift our focus back to God and Keep on Looking Up.

When Jesus came walking on the water, Peter jumped into the water boldly to walk towards Jesus but somewhere along the way, his focus shifts to the waves and the storm around him and he begins to sink. This is exactly what happens when we look at the storm around us. Just keep looking at God. Once Peter shifted his gaze towards Jesus, he was able to walk again.

God promises Abraham a son but Abraham looks at Sarah and begins to doubt. He has a son through Hagar but God as he promised gives him a son through Sarah.

When God says something He will keep his word, stop looking around and keep your focus on God. Look Up and see what God has promised you through the eyes of faith. Don’t look around and see the present.

In Impossible Situations the only person who can get you through is God. So roll your problems onto him and don’t worry about it. Just hold on to your vision and keep your focus on God. Stay connected to God by talking to Him always and hearing his voice. And in an impossible situation always remember – With God all things are possible.

Matthew 19:26 - Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Mark 10: 27- Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”