Are You Sensitive?

Elkanah had two wives Hannah and Peninnah

Verse 6-7-And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.

So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Can you picture what it would be like to year after year being ridiculed, mocked, made fun of, something you had no control over!

Someone who had been blessed mocking someone who was lest fortunate!

Being a woman and knowing, what a shameful experience that was for a woman and yet, still teasing her!

It goes to show you how cruel us humans can be toward one another!

You see, we are not far from this cruel woman, matter of a fact there have been times in our life that we acted just like this woman!

We have been cruel and hateful, and mean to somebody, somebody that had, maybe our same skin tone or different , maybe our vocation, maybe our same sex, maybe even in our own family.

We have looked down our noses at them, made fun of them behind their back, maybe even been as bold to make fun of them to their face.

Yes, we who have been so blessed, are capable of having this feelings of superiority over someone because we have things that they do not have!

(Maybe those things are a car, a home, a job, a talent, money, marriage, children, something you had that someone did not have and it made you feel better than them!!!)

We easily forget that the only reason we have any blessing at all is because of God’s grace!!

Why, He has smiled on us, if we would search our hearts honestly, we would have no good answer!

Because as many time we have failed Him, lied to Him, miss treated Him, why, in the world would He bless us!

There maybe someone right now, that God is reminding you of, how you have treated them or how you are treating them.

This would be a great time to repent of that to God, and then rectify that situation!!

Do not stand before God and Him remind you of something, He is reminding of today, and you didn’t do anything about!

Verse 8-Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Now, not only does she have a rival that taunts her all the time, but she has a spouse that is not sensitive to wants, her desires and he needs!

But she is not the first one to have this problem nor is she the last!!

This insensitive streak runs both ways…men have it and women have it!!

This being insensitive to other peoples needs is a equal employer, it does not discriminate between men and women!!

He thought her world should revolve a round him!

The problem with revolving our world around one thing, one person (This excludes God of course) that what if that one thing or one person leaves or is taken away, then what?

That’s why you see so many people’s world crumble after the death of a spouse, or lost of a job!

They have put all their time and effort into someone or something, and with out it they are lost!

Your spouse needs more than you, to complete them as a individual!

First thing every one needs is God, and after that, they may need children, or a hobby, a career, are all those things and the list may continue.

But these things should not take away from the relationship but add to the relationship!

Verse 9-11-So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

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.”

Well, she can’t talk to her rival about her situation, she’s not getting anywhere talking to her husband, so she goes to the one place she knows, where someone will listen to her!

She cries out to God!

To many times in our life we tell everybody about our situation, and we never tell God!

And if we tell God our problem, we also tell Him how to solve it!