My blog

Tag: God

  • God’s timing.

    Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”  1 Sam 1:11 NKJV

    Let’s put this verse in context first and I’m paraphrasing here:

    Hannah was one of two wives to Elkanah.  In ancient Israel, the practice of polygamy was common. While Elkanah’s other wife had children, Hannah was barren.  The other wife derided Hannah because of her barrenness.  And while this is cruel and unjust today’s society, in ancient times when a woman was barren, it brought shame to her.

    The family had gone to Shiloh to bring a sacrifice to the Lord God which was their custom. Elkanah gave a double portion of blessing (meaning food) to Hannah because he loved her and because she was barren and looked upon with derision. But Hannah wept and would not eat.  She begged God to open her womb.

    That’s what this verse is about.  Hannah begged God to give her a child who she promised would be given to Him, consecrated as a Nazarite and set apart for God.

    God did open her womb and gave her a son named Samuel. This verse is not about Samuel but about his mother, Hannah, who could only depend on God to fix her circumstances.

    What heartbreak the woman must have endured at the hands of not only her husband’s other wife but all the women in her community!  And yet, she went directly to God for help.  It reminds us to look to God when situations are dire.

    Some might ask, “Isn’t no even harder to endure?”  I would say, no, because when a no comes, I believe God has a better plan than what I proposed.  Thus, it goes hand in hand with wait.

    Do you go directly to God when you are in dire situations or do you go to your friends for counsel?  Who is better prepared to handle your situation?

    What are your thoughts? 

     

  • Gideon’s Victory

    So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he [Gideon] sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.   Judges 7:8 NKJV

    It seemed fitting on this Memorial Day to use a verse from scripture that details how God worked wondrously through his servant Gideon, a military leader, judge, and prophet.

    As a military leader, he knew battle strategy but as a judge and prophet would he trust God to do what God had promised or would he do what he thought was in the best interest of Israel?

     God made him an authoritative figure but Gideon leaned more on his own understanding of war and took 32,000 men to the Midianites to prepare for battle.  But God told him there were too many men! Gideon then sent 22,000 men back to Israel, leaving 10,000 men to conquer the Midianites. It was still too many men for God to show His glory.  Only 300 men remained to conquer the Midianites.  Against all odds and man’s battle plans, God gave Gideon the direction to overcome their foes who were in far greater numbers than Gideon’s men.

    Today’s Bible story shows us if we have God’s ear, there’s nothing we can’t overcome.  What battle are you waging today?  Is it physical, mental, emotional, financial?  He has the answer.  Seek Him and His answer.