Monthly Archives: May 2014

May 16, 2014 · 7:05 AM

My Mentor Job

A friend of mine at “A Mike For Christ” recently asked a question that took me a while to answer. He asked, “Who in the Scriptures besides Jesus teaches you much, whether about God, spirituality, or your own humanity?” I’m not a person who like it when people give me the easy answer, so I don’t like to give the easy answer. A lot of names came to mind when I read the question, but I asked myself, “Which person in the Bible teaches me about all three?” I wondered if there was someone who gave me insight into God, what it means to be spiritual and taught me about my own humanity.

I came up with Job. You may say, “That’s an easy answer. Why didn’t you say Mephibosheth or someone like that?” Job I believe met all three criteria in my own personal life. He taught me a lot about who God is. One of the first things I learned about God is that He doesn’t cause the bad times in my life, but He allows them so that He can prove my faithfulness to Him. Satan went to God and pointed to Job’s righteousness. Satan told God that he only lived that way because of all the blessings. God responded in Job 1:12, “All right, you may test him,” the LORD said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the LORD’s presence (NLT).

Job also taught me about spiritual things. He proved that you could maintain your integrity in the most difficult of circumstances. Having lost his kids, his possessions, his money and everything precious to him, He fell to his knees and found cause to worship God. When his friends accused him of wrong doing, he did not flinch. When his wife told him to curse God and die, he responded with wisdom, “Shall we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” When he had no reason to hope, to trust or the worship, he did all three because of his foundation found in his relationship with God.

He reminds me of my humanity later on in the book. God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind and asked him some tough questions like, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Do you know where the gates of death are? Can you direct the constellations through the seasons?” I’m reminded that God is in control and my feeble attempts to control my life are pointless. The things that happen can be a consequence of my behavior or they can be from God to prepare me for things that are coming. Either way, God has set them into motion and they are far too great for me to understand even if He answered my question of “Why”.

Job is the oldest book in the Bible and yet it still speaks to me. Every time I read it, I gain insight into who God is and how He sees me. I get challenged to live a life of worship. When hard times hit unexpectedly, they reveal what’s really on the inside. For job, that was worship and integrity. When life’s storms hit my shore, I look to Job for advice and proof that I can survive anything. He was human and he endured Satan’s worst attacks on his life. His humanity was exposed in the storm, but so was his foundation. I want to be that kind of follower of Christ. I want to have that sure of a foundation. I want God to be able to point at me and say, “Have you considered my servant Chris? He is blameless – a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” If Job did it, so can I.

Which person in Scripture does this for you?

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 15, 2014 · 6:27 AM

Practicing God’s Truths

I played basketball on high school and every day after school we had practice. To get started, we’d do calisthenics to stretch our muscles and warm ourselves up. Then we would run to finish warming up. After that, coach would explain the plays we were going to work on. He would then grab the starting five to walk through it so everyone would know where they were supposed to be. He would interchange players from the bench so they would know where they fit into the play. Once we got it, we would do a full speed run through over and over until it was like clockwork.

There were lots of corrections once we got to full speed. He would blow his whistle, stop the play, make the correction for the person who messed up and then would explain to everyone what went wrong and why it had to be that way. Once we got that down pat, we would then bring in the second string players to be defensive stand ins. We would then practice with the obstacle of players standing in our way. Once we had the play down with them there, he unleashed them to move as real players. We then practiced with a live defense until we got it right.

As a kid, I didn’t understand why we practiced the plays so much. I didn’t understand why everything had to be perfect before we could move to the next level. Now I know that practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. In practicing, we learned the ins and outs of everything that had to do with what we were learning. We learned what not to do and what to expect from our opponent, even an opponent who knew the play. We learned how to adapt and execute the play in order to win.

In Philippians 4:9, Paul urges us who are believers to “keep putting into practice all that you have learned and received from me.” He wants us as believers to practice what’s right. To practice putting the Gospel into action in our lives. He knew, like my coach, that one practice isn’t going to get you to perfect. You have to keep practicing what you’ve learned day in and day out. You have to perfect what you do so that it becomes second nature. You’ll know what to do when the enemy plays defense and tries to mess you up. You’ll be able to beat Him.

Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “But even more blessed are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.” He wanted us to practice putting God’s Word into action in our lives. That means keep trying even if you fail. Don’t give up when you mess up or can’t seem to get it right. Slow down, go back to a His Word and understand why He wants you to do things a certain way. Then put it into practice until you get it right. If you want to see growth, take one of God’s truths and start putting it into practices until you get it down pat. That can take a while so don’t give up in the process. You’ll get it, just keep practicing.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 14, 2014 · 7:03 AM

Changing Your Mind

I’ve started to read “Good to Great In God’s Eyes” by Chip Ingram. The book is for people who don’t want to be ordinary Christians. In the book there are ten practices that we can adopt as believers to live extraordinary lives in God’s eyes. He uses a lot of the techniques that I’ve learned in selling and management. I believe the Bible is full of men and women who lived great lives that set them apart and that you and I can live a life that would be worthy of writing about.

The first thing he talks about in the book is thinking great thoughts. He mentions that he doesn’t start with a physical action or attitude because true change starts in the mind. From all of my learning, I have found this practice to be true. In order to change a behavior in our lives, we first have to change how we think about it. You and I are creatures of habit, but we are not creatures who are stuck in our ways unless we believe that with our mind. If you want to change for the better, you have to believe that you can change.

How you think about something is what determines your feelings about it. How you feel about it determines your attitude about it. Your attitude then determines your behavior towards it. If you want to change your behavior towards something, you have to change your attitude. If you want to change your attitude, you have to change how you feel about it. If you want to change how you feel about it, you have to change your thoughts. You and I have the capability of changing our thought pattern over time.

Think about Romans 12:2. It says, “Do not be conformed to this world this age, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind by its new ideals and its new attitude, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you (AMP). Our transformation, our changing comes from the renewing of our mind. We renew our mind by renewing our thoughts. We renew our thoughts by being intentional about the thoughts we think.

It also says that when we renew our mind, we get a new attitude. When we get the new attitude, we will be able to prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The Message says then you’ll “readily recognize what He wants from you and quickly respond to it. Your attitude will determine your action. You will begin to do the things that God wants you to do. You will begin to live the life a God wants you to live. You will start moving from a good, Christian life to a great Christian life. It all starts with the thoughts you think. If you want to change your life, change your thoughts.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 13, 2014 · 7:42 AM

Times Of Rain

Rain is something we need, but don’t really want. We associate it with bad. It started when we were children singing the song, “Rain, Rain, go away. Come again another day.” Rain disrupts the times of sunshine and happiness. When it’s rainy outside, we say it’s gloomy. We think of the gray clouds and we think of depression. It changes our path, our timing and our plans. It messes things up for us so we resist it. We forget that rain is a necessary part of life. We forget the good that it does.

I’ve got several friends right now who are experiencing rain in their lives. Several friends have had loved ones pass away unexpectedly. I’ve got a couple of friends who can’t seem to find a job. I’ve got a few friends whose lives have been turned upside down because of choices their spouse made. For them, it seems like the rain just keeps coming. It feels like their lives are being flooded with negative things. Matthew 5:45 came to mind. It says, “It rains on the just and the unjust.”

I’ve read or heard that scripture my whole life. I was always under the impression that it just meant that bad things happen to Christians and non Christians alike because I associated rain with bad times. When I read it in context and then in several versions and interpretations of the original Greek, the Message Bible stood out. It said, “This is what God does. He gives His best – the sun to warm and the rain to nourish – to everyone regardless.” The times of rain in our lives are meant to nourish us. Just like our yards, lakes and crops need rain for nourishment, so do our lives.

When bad things happen, it usually pushes us closer go God. We spend more time in prayer. We take the time to talk to God and to read His Word to try to find answers. Days of sunshine rarely push us to spend time with God. When we go so long without rain or without spending time with a God, we enter a desert. God knows that we need rain. Of course, with lots of rain, it starts to flood. Jesus told a parable about that. He said the wise man built his house upon the rock so that when the rains came down and the floods went up, his house would stand firm.

What’s your house built on? The one way to test it is with lots of rain. If your faith erodes when the floods come, you’ve built your house on sand. The good news is that of that’s the case, God is there to help you rebuild your life after laying a firm foundation. If the floods came and have damaged your house, but your foundation is firm, God will be there when the rain leaves to help you make repairs. Either way, the rain should drive you closer to God and nourish your spirit. Times of rain are painful, but needed. Don’t run from them.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 12, 2014 · 7:41 AM

Mr. Irrelevant

20140512-074352.jpg

Does the name Lonnie Ballentine mean anything to you? If not, don’t worry. Most people don’t know him and odds are they won’t. He was the last person picked this year in the NFL draft and is given the title “Mr. Irrelevant”. They name the last person drafted Mr. Irrelevant because odds are that they won’t make the team they were drafted to. While they get the honor of being drafted, they may never step foot onto a professional football field. The last person picked is just a formality. It’s a pick that means nothing. There are hundreds more that didn’t get drafted that feel irrelevant too.

It reminds me of school yard basketball, dodgeball or anything team related. Two people pick teams. Little by little the crowd is whittled down until one remains. The one team captain says, “You can have them.” The other one sees them as a disadvantage too and says, “No. You take them.” Neither one wants to take the last one there and care very little for their feelings. It’s tough feeling irrelevant. It hurts when that label has been applied to you. Sooner or later, you start to believe it and start acting that way.

What you may not know is that through the years, there are a number of people that were drafted as “Mr. Irrelevant” that made the team. There were several that had great careers and even one who went with his team to the Super Bowl. These men chose not to let the label define them. They didn’t look at the odds, the circumstances or history and decide to fall in line. They chose to be relevant. They chose to work harder, do more and make the team. They didn’t let a label placed on them choose their destiny.

You may be reading this today with the mindset that you’re irrelevant. Maybe you weren’t picked for the job. Maybe no one remembered it was your birthday. Maybe no one appreciates all you do to make ends meet. The enemy wants to come in and tell you that your life is irrelevant. He wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy you. Don’t listen to the lies that say you are irrelevant. That your life is worthless. That no one wants you. That your life has no meaning. You mean more to God than you can ever comprehend. Your dark times are the very thing that will make you relevant.

There are so many people who are and will go through something similar to your circumstances. God needs someone who’s been there, walked in those shoes and dealt with the pain of feeling irrelevant in order to help them. He needs you to draw on your experiences to give hope to those who have none. Being picked last is a blessing. It means that God can use you to reach others who will be picked last. He makes beauty from ashes. He has to let your life be torn down sometimes in order to build it back up. He can take a life that seems irrelevant and make it relevant. It’s up to us to not give up during those times so He can make what you’re going through relevant.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 9, 2014 · 7:45 AM

The Mom Who Wouldn’t Quit

It’s Free Friday! Today is the day you let go of the things in your life that keep you down or hold you back from all God has for you. To celebrate, I’m giving away an autographed copy of “What Happens When Women Say Yes To God” by Lysa TerKeurst. Keep reading to find out how to enter.

I’ve always heard that if your mom is praying for you, you might as well stop running because God is going to answer her prayer. There us a lot of power and passion in a mother’s prayer. I believe it’s because God puts something special in them. They have the power to love their children unconditionally. When a dad is ready to give up, a mom keeps believing against all hope and prays even more fervently. There is power in a mom’s prayer.

There is a mom in Matthew 15:22-28 who approached Jesus for her child. We don’t know her name, but we know about her persistence. She had a daughter who was being tormented by a demon. It was unbearable for her to watch her daughter be miserable and to be powerless against it. When she heard that Jesus was coming through her area, she made it her mission to get His attention and to get Him to heal her daughter no matter what. She knew that Jesus had the power to make her daughter whole.

With a loud voice, she began to make a scene trying to get Jesus’ attention. The Amplified Bible says it was a loud, troublesomely urgent cry. “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David,” she cried out. Jesus could hear her, but He ignored her. He kept walking and gave her no reply to her shouts. She then began to pester the disciples. She begged them to get Him to touch her daughter. If she couldn’t get The Lord’s attention, she would find those who could and get them to plead with Him on her behalf.

When the disciples got tired of being bothered by her, they said to Jesus, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.” Jesus refused again. He said He had His hands full helping the lost sheep of Israel. When the woman saw that Jesus wouldn’t grant her request even though the disciples asked Him to, she marched right up to Him, dropped to her knees and begged, “Master, help me.” You can hear the desperation in her voice as she wanted nothing more than help for her daughter.

Jesus then said one of the most harsh things He ever said. He looked at her and said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus had not only ignored her and refused to answer her, now He was insulting her. Instead of walking away or throwing an insult back, she quickly replied, “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.” Verse 28 says, “Jesus gave in. ‘Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get.’ Right then her daughter became well.”

If you feel like God has ignored your prayer, keep praying and get others involved. If God is refusing your request, go straight into the a Throne Room and make your request known. If God is still refusing, don’t quit praying. If you feel insulted because you have prayed so long and so hard, don’t stop. Your answer could be just around the corner. God will test our faith to make sure it’s what we really want. He will answer when our faith is something else. Mom, you have a gift for never giving up when it comes to your children. Keep going to The Lord in prayer until He gives in and grants your request. There’s something about a praying mom that touches the heart of God.

If you would like to win an autographed copy of “What Happens When Women Say Yes To God” by Lysa TerKeurst, all you have to do is go to my Facebook page here and “like” it. I will randomly pick one person tomorrow (May 10, 2014) who has liked my page. If you have already liked my page and enjoy reading these daily devotionals, you are already entered. Please invite your friends to like my page so they can receive encouragement from God’s Word too

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 8, 2014 · 7:55 AM

The Mom Who Was MVP

This week Kevin Durant, of the NBA’s Oklahoma Thunder, won the league MVP. In his 25 minute speech, he thanked coaches and other players by name and told how they has helped him. The room was captivated. Then, through tears, he turned to his mom and thanked her. He told how she was a single mom raising two boys. He told how they had to move from apartment to apartment sometimes with no furniture or beds. He told how she did what it took to make ends meet and even kept him off the streets. He then looked at her, with tears in his eyes, and said, “You’re the real MVP.”

I don’t know why, but listening to his speech reminded me of the widow woman in I Kings 17 that Elijah approached. He had been camping out by a brook and ravens had been bringing him food. Because of the drought, the brook dried up. God told him to go to a nearby town and that a widow would feed him. As he traveled he became both thirsty and hungry. He had worked up quite an appetite by the time he arrived at the town. As he walked up to the city gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called out to her to bring him a drink. As she turned to get the water jug, he added, “And bring me some bread too.”

The motherly instinct kicked in now. She didn’t mind getting this stranger water. There was plenty of it, but the bread was a different story. She let him know that she barely had enough for one meal. She was going to feed it to her son and then they were going to die of starvation. Her son must have been pretty young. He wasn’t out gathering sticks for her. She was gathering the sticks, she was going to build the fire, she was going to cook and she was going to share it with him. I’m sure she had played out their death a thousand times. This last bit of bread represented hope. It represented one more day of life and now this stranger was asking for it.

Being the good mom she was, she explained why she couldn’t give up their last meal. But Elijah spoke to her and gave her a promise from God. He told her not to be afraid and that God would cause there to be flour and oil in her jars until the rains came and crops were produced. She had to make a choice. Was this man really from God? Were his words really what God said? What if I give our last meal to him and God doesn’t come through? I’m sure there were lots of doubts and scenarios going through her mind. In the end, she went for the long term solution versus the short term gain. She gave up everything for her son in order to trust God to help them live.

So many moms out there are faced with life and death decisions like this widow. They choose not to eat so their kids can. They don’t know where the next meal will come from. They work, but it seems like it’s not enough. The widow showed that if we continue to work, but also do all that God asks, He will provide. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. I know several people who have been to this desperate point. They trusted God and miraculously groceries showed up on their door step, someone paid for their groceries at the store, or money came in from seemingly no where. Moms who trust God when there seems to be no way are the real MVP’s of this life.

Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. (Psalms 37:25 NLT)

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 7, 2014 · 7:48 AM

The Mom Who Believed

Have you ever told a true story to someone who didn’t believe you? That what happened to Gabriel. Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties working his assigned shift at the Temple. He was chosen by lot to be the one who entered the sanctuary to burn incense. While he was in there alone, Gabriel appeared next to the smoke. He told Zachariah that the prayers for a child that he and Elizabeth had prayed were heard by God and that they would have a son named John. After Gabriel spoke prophetically about John, Zachariah said, “Do you expect me to believe this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman.”

After hearing that, Gabriel made Zachariah mute until the child was born. When he returned home, I’m sure he motioned to Elizabeth about why he couldn’t speak. It was clear later, that they had communicated about this. Elizabeth believed the message from God. She had long prayed for a child and now God was answering her prayers. Even though she felt like she was beyond child bearing years, she had the faith to keep praying for a child. God honored her faith and answered when she could only believe it was Him. He proved to her that nothing is impossible to Him and it’s never too late to answer a prayer.

Gabriel also met with Mary about Jesus’ birth. While talking to her, he told her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Mary rushed to see Elizabeth. When she entered the house, the baby and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit according to Luke 1:41. Elizabeth then prophesied over Mary. One of the things she said is good for each of us to hear. In verse 45 she said, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from The Lord.” God speaks to many of us about what He wants to do in our lives. As we get older, and time goes by, we quit believing what a God spoke to us.

Elizabeth reminds us that when God speaks a promise, we are blessed to keep believing it no matter how much time goes by. We choose to believe that it’s too late for God to move, act or fulfill His promise or we choose to believe that nothing is impossible. Elizabeth chose to keep praying even though the mirror told her she was too old. She kept believing even though history told her she was beyond the time for pregnancy. She kept trusting God’s promise instead of the reports she got from the doctors. She reminds us that those who can believe through all of that are blessed.

When her son was born, the people wanted to name him after his father as the tradition was. She rejected what her neighbors and community thought she should do and insisted on doing what the angel told her husband. The neighbors then went to Zachariah since she wouldn’t budge. Surely he wanted the honor of having his child named after him. When they asked him, he wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.” Immediately he could speak. The first words out of his mouth were blessings, praise and thanksgiving to God. He didn’t praise God because his tongue was loosed. He blessed God because He had answered his prayer.

Today, let your tongue loose to praise God even before you get your answer. Trust Him to be faithful to His promise to you. He has not forgotten what He said He would do. He will fulfill it in His time so that you will know that it was all God and no one else’s doing. God doesn’t care whys the doctors have said. He doesn’t base His promise on what family history says. He doesn’t even care what everyone else says. He cares about you and the promise He made. He cares that you keep believing in the hard times, through the dark nights and when all else fails. His word will not return void. He will do what He said He would if you believe.

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 6, 2014 · 8:00 AM

The Mom Who Risked It All

Today, I want to take a closer look at the mother of Moses. The Bible doesn’t say a whole lot about her, but her actions speak volumes. We know that she and her husband were Levites which was the priestly lineage of Israel. Moses, being born to them would be a priest. He would serve in the role unlike any other. His work was not only in the sanctuary, but also he served outside of it as a leader of the people. He led them out of physical bondage as well as spiritual bondage.

I wonder what it was about him that his mother saw. The scripture says in Exodus 2 that when he was born, “she saw that he was a special baby.” My hope is that most mom’s would look at their baby’s and see something special about them. For so e reason, the Bible calls out that there was something different about him. There was something worth risking their lives for. The Pharaoh had given the order that every newborn, Hebrew boy should be tossed into the Nile river. Anyone who defied the Pharaoh would surely be punished.

Another thing Moses’ mom did was to keep him hidden for three months. She did what she could to protect her baby. She was somehow able to keep him a secret from everyone. Every mom has a God-given instinct to protect their children. Mom’s do what they can to protect their own. It’s a special gift that shouldn’t be over looked. Mom’s are the protectors. When a child is scared, they call out for mom. When a child is hurt, they cry out for mom. Moses’ mom was just like any other mom out there, she wanted to be her child’s protector.

When she could no longer keep it quiet that she had a little boy, she had to make a tough decision. She had to let go of her prize possession in order to save him. She knew when it was time to let go. She built a floating basket big enough for her 3 month old, laid him in it and put it in the Nile. She knew her daughter was small enough to hide in the reeds, so she sent her to follow the baby until he was safe. She knew that Pharaoh lived just down stream from them and if he saw or heard the baby, he would kill him.

It just so happened that Pharaoh’s daughter was going to take a bath in the river at the same time Moses was floating by. She didn’t have her father’s heart. She had a mother’s heart that broke when she heard the baby crying and saw him. She must have seen what his birth mother saw and she decided to adopt him. When the sister saw he would be safe with her, she approached the princess. She asked if she would like her to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. When she brought back Moses’ mom, the princess agreed to pay her to nurse and raise the boy until he was weaned.

God does so e mysterious things, especially for mom’s. I believe they hold a special place in His heart. Stories like this one rarely mention the father. Some of the greatest leaders of the Bible were heavily influenced by their mom. In this case, Moses had the influence of his birth mom who instilled his heritage in him. He also had his adoptive mother who kept him save until the time came for him to step into that priestly role. The Israelites needed a leader. They needed someone to rescue them from slavery and they found that in Moses. History changed not just because of Moses, but also because his mom risked everything for his survival.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 5, 2014 · 8:01 AM

The Mom Who Was Granted Grace

I want go focus on mothers in the Bible this week. Today, Hannah comes to mind. She was the mother of Samuel. Her husband had another wife named Peninnah. She had blessed her husband with children, but Hannah had not. She struggled with infertility. I’m sure it bothered her all the time, but each year when they would travel to Shiloh to worship God, it would become a major issue. Her husband would give a portion of the sacrifice to Peninnah and to each of her children. To Hannah, he only gave one portion. Peninnah would taunt her and make fun of her for not having children.

I’m sure that Hannah struggled daily with not being able to have children. The voice in her head constantly tormented her making her feel like she was somehow less of a person because she couldn’t have kids. She must have felt like God was punishing her or that there was something wrong with her. Every time she saw a mother with their children, it was like a knife in a wound reminding her that she was barren. Having the other wife taunt her and make fun of her was just salt in the wound.

Her husband would say things like, “Aren’t I worth more to you than ten sons?” Men really don’t understand what a woman goes through. We aren’t wired the way a woman is. Instead of doing something consoling, we say something stupid. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her husband, she wanted fulfillment that only a child could bring. Her husband’ swords weren’t meant to hurt, but spoken out of ignorance, they did more harm than good. She would have preferred he prayed for her there while we sacrificed.

Since he didn’t, she did. She went into the sanctuary to pray. She began to weep as years of pain, suffering and mental anguish released. When she ran out of tears, her body dry heaved as she tried to pray. The words wouldn’t come out. Her mouth was moving, but the prayer was coming from her heart. Eli, the priest, saw her at the alter. He assumed she was drunk by her behavior. He called out to her, “Must you come here drunk?” Sobbing she replied, “I haven’t been drinking. But I am very discouraged and I was pouring my heart out to The Lord.” He said, “In that case, go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

She went away happy and began to eat again. She believed the word from Eli. She conceived and gave birth to a son. When he was old enough to be weaned, she took him back to Eli and gave him to The Lord. She left him there as an offering for God answering her prayer. She gave back the thing she wanted most. When I looked up the name Hannah, it meant “grace”. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grace as “an unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration.” God gave Hannah grace just like he gives it to us. When Samuel was born, Hannah became a new person. She was free of the thing that haunted her. God is still in the business of answering our deepest desires and granting us grace when no one else understands.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,