1Sa 1:2 and he had two wives; the name of the one was
Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah
had no children.
1Sa 1:5 but unto Hannah he gave a double portion; for
he loved Hannah, but Jehovah had shut up her womb.
1Sa 1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed
unto Jehovah, and wept sore.
1Sa 1:12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying
before Jehovah, that Eli marked her mouth.
1Sa 1:16 Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman;
for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken
hitherto.
1Sa 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and
the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
1Sa 1:20 And it came to pass, when the time was come
about, that Hannah conceived, and bare a son; and she called his name Samuel, saying,
Because I have asked him of Jehovah.
Hannah was in a predicament many women and men have known
and she determined to bring this issue to God for resolution. She was fixed in
her course, with respect and humility and God gave her a son.
Rth 1:12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I
am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even
have a husband to-night, and should also bear sons;
Rth 1:16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee,
and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and
where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my
God;
Rth 1:17 where thou diest, will I die, and there will
I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee
and me.
Rth 1:18 And when she saw that she was stedfastly
minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her.
Rth 4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and
the elders, said, We are witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into
thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel:
and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
Rth 4:12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez,
whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this
young woman.
Rth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife;
and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son.
Rth 4:14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be
Jehovah, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his
name be famous in Israel.
Rth 4:15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life,
and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who
is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.
Rth 4:16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her
bosom, and became nurse unto it.
Rth 4:17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name,
saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the
father of Jesse, the father of David.
Naomi went with her husband and sons away from Israel. She
remained faithful to God and her husband and when they died, she determined to
return to Israel. Ruth was a young woman married to one of Naomi’s sons and had
determined to stay with her mother in law till death. Her strength and humility
led to another husband, fine home and inclusion in the blood line of Jesus.
1Sa 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare
his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised:
it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah
to save by many or by few.
1Sa 14:7 And his armorbearer said unto him, Do all
that is in thy heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
1Sa 14:12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan
and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And
Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah hath
delivered them into the hand of Israel.
1Sa 14:13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and
upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan;
and his armorbearer slew them after him.
The Philistines(Palestinians)
were camped next to Saul’s army but he displayed no interest in fighting them.
Jonathan felt like this was the time and place to move and secured the support
of his armorbearer. They discussed a plan and determined to carry it out with
God’s support. They won a great victory which encouraged Saul to act.
Act 15:37 And Barnabas was minded to take with them John
also, who was called Mark.
Act 15:38 But Paul thought not good to take with them
him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
Act 15:39 And there arose a sharp contention, so that
they parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him, and
sailed away unto Cyprus;
Act 15:40 but Paul choose Silas, and went forth, being
commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring
him with thee; for he is useful to me for ministering.
John Mark apparently did not have the stamina to complete a
previous trip and Paul wasn’t in a coddling temperament, at this time in his
life, but Barnabas saw potential and determined to keep Mark as his partner.
This worked to the favor of both because John Mark matured to the place that
much later, Paul requested Mark come to his aid.
History is full of individuals taking a stand for personal,
social, economic, moral grounds and altering their lives, the lives of others
and often affecting the policies and future of nations. What is the difference
between a Hannah and another barren woman, a Jonathan and another soldier, a
Barnabas supporting Mark and a Paul rejecting him? Only God knows.
Hannah had her husband.
Batman has his butler.
Iron Man has his secretary.A blessed Husband has his wife.
A President with integrity has a close associate of the same
quality.
God puts people into this life on this Earth to accomplish
his will and purposes. Each Hero and Heroine needs a backup and it appears God is the arranger of each case. The one component every successful person MUST have is a supporting partner/companion/friend.Notice with me, he did not put Christians, he put people that may become Christian but do not have to for God to use them. I have observed that this point drives many Christians crazy but GUESS WHAT, HE DOESN'T CARE. God uses whomever it pleases him.
Presidents and Kings,
Mothers and Fathers,
Plumbers and Electricians.
Each person has a God given talent, path to walk, goal to
achieve and option to choose. We humans not ONLY honor people of accomplishment, we often deify them.
When you determine to accomplish your goals as directed by
God, and these may take a lifetime, you are “doing the work of God”. All of us
will encounter Walls of Obstruction WOO which are people that have chosen the
path of most resistance to anyone not doing things their way. These “gifted
people” feel it is their inspired duty to subtly and with great efficiency harass,
slowdown and misdirect others going against the main stream thought.
What I finally determined, in my 60s, was to stop finding my job and let God lead me to the career he intended for me, all my life.
I have read about people, in the Winter of their years,
writing great works, creating magnificent works in wood, teaching, traveling, singing, and inspiring
others with their determined attitudes. We all have our time to blossom with each event of each day preparing us for "our time". One person is awarded a Masters in their twenties, another in their nineties. Each in their time. A theme statement among these people is,"after I fulfilled all my duties, requirements and met all demands, I decided to follow my dream." Rarely were those dreams destructive.
A young writer posted a thought recently, which I considered
well worth passing around. The question or thought was about raising children
to love God. My opinion is there is no better determined goal than to point
your or a child toward God in a healthy, mentoring manner. In approximately 50 years of living with and without God, asking opinions of those that appeared to put time in thought, observing people choosing to include and exclude God, I became convinced by the evidence of the distinct advantages of loving and serving God than not.
Let her and her readers know your thoughts.
Thanks.
