A lot of times in our lives we are faced with trials an obstacle that threaten to end our very existence, so we think. We are so beaten down that we don’t how we are going to survive. you have tried to do things your way and the more you put your hands in it the more you fail. What obstacles are you facing that has you so brow beaten? What tribulations are you facing that keeps you up in the mid night hour? What trials are you facing that keeps you pacing the floor at night? What has happened in your life to cause you to question God’s very existence and if he is real or not? What is it? Is it family problems? Is it yourself? broken relationships ? Bills? sickness in the body? a Job? What is it ? Is it your past life? What has caused you to feel like giving up? What is your Peninnah? What is your Obstacle?
Today we are Going to be focused on how to overcome the Peninnah’s In our Lives.
Lets look at 1 Samuel 1-18
1 Samuel 1
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham,
the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had
children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two
sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters,
portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept,
and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart
grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post
of the temple of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the
LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had
been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong
drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken
hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Hannah was a woman of prayer. She had what many of us would call " a raw deal in life". She did not settle for it. She went after God. She poured her heart out to Him and He filled her and met her desire.
Hannah’s name is a "grace". Grace is defined as undeserved love and favor of God towards man as a sinner. Surely as we look at her story, we will see that her experience was characterized by grace, both in terms of the favor she found with God, as well as the way in which she dealt with her situation.
Hannah has also come to represent a whole class of women, those who deeply long to have children of their own; but for some reason, known or unknown, they are unable to do so. But we also view Hannah as a model mother, and with good reason. At his birth she dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord’s work, and when the time came, she kept her promise and left him in the temple to be prepared for a life of ministry unto the Lord. But let’s not forget, hers was not an easy path. She was not a woman without troubles.
The biggest problem for Hannah was simply that she could not give birth, and within the culture that she lived, that was an extremely heavy burden to bear. All woman wanted a man child because it was said that the messiah would come through the seed of a woman. To make matters even worse, she lived during a time when polygamy was acceptable, and she found herself compared with, and despised by, another woman - Peninnah, the other wife of her husband, Elkanah. Peninnah apparently had no trouble getting pregnant, and she was cruel in her taunts of Hannah.
Peninnah’s name meant Venomous or coral. She was spiteful, hateful ,hostile and full of Malice. She was an enemy or adversary toward Hannah . Her attitude clearly lived up to her name. The bible tells us that Elkaniah loved Hannah but it doesn’t say that he necessarily loved Peninnah.This could have been why she took every opportunity to harass Hannah about not being able to give birth. It could have been that this woman was full of resentment, jealousy ,anger and annoyance at the fact that Elkananh loved Hannah more than her. So she sat out to make Hannah’s life a living nightmare, Hannah suffered much mental and physical anguish under Penniahs hand. We see this due to the fact that Hannah wept and not eat.
What was Hannah’s response to being harassed? She just cried and didn’t eat she went into a state of depression. I can imagine that she didn’t feel whole and that she didn’t feel worthy. Hannah lived in a society where a woman was looked down on for not being able to give birth and Having Peninnah always in her face about it made the situation worse. Instead of us accepting the things that the devil throws in our way we need to learn how to get up and pray. We need to learn to seek God’s face when our backs are against the wall and it seems like we are falling deeper and deeper into bowels of our troubles.
How did Elkanah respond to this? Well, give him some credit, he tried to be understanding and supportive, telling Hannah how much he loved her ("am not I better to thee than ten sons?" - 1 Samuel 1:8). To prove it, he gave her a double portion at the feast. However, it didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now - don’t try to solve emotional distress by means of more food. Don’t try to get over emotional distress by using drugs an alcohol as a tool. Don’t try to get over emotional distress by drowning yourself in your Job or money. Also don’t try to solve emotional distress in the arms of a man.
As hard as he tried, even a loving husband couldn’t remove the deep anguish and pain Hannah felt.Elkanah was no longer a substitute for she what she wanted. He was no longer substitute for the real thing. Hannah had got to the point in her life were she realized that her husband could no longer complete her. He was no longer what replace what she needed.. So she turned in another direction - her response becomes a model for us. Hannah turned to the Lord. Sometime we want to run to our parent or friends to tell them our troubles and get solutions to our troubles but how many of you know that they don’t no the answers. Or we go call the psychic hotline only to find out that they don’t even have a clue. The only solution or answer to you troubled is Jesus. You need to learn how to run to him. In some instances the pastor may have the answer. Again I say run to Jesus.
What are you using to substitue the need of God in your life? What has become you Elkaniah
First, we learn that she wept "in bitterness of soul". It seemed to her that she just couldn’t take it anymore. It was too much to bear. The shame, the lack of fulfillment, the taunting looks and even words of the other woman; watching the children of the other wife playing in the yard, perhaps the attention shown to them by their father - the hopelessness, the despair. Does it feel that way to you sometimes? Perhaps not for the same reason as Hannah’s, but you feel as helpless. And the tears want to flow. The first response was hers, bitter tears. Let them flow - there’s nothing wrong with tears - but let it be in the presence of the Lord, and be quick to get to the next step.
Let the crying turn into praying. Let’s notice these points about Hanna’s prayer:
She prayed "in her heart". Yes, her lips were moving, but no words were uttered. Perhaps this was the kind of prayer Paul spoke about in Romans 8:26, "with groans which cannot be uttered." For some, it may even be praying "in an unknown tongue", the language supplied by the Spirit to pray for ones own and others’ needs even when full understanding is lacking.
Notice also that Hannah "poured out her soul’ as she prayed. This was not a surface prayer - it was prayer from the center of her being. It reminds us of the familiar words of the Psalmist included in our songs, "Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul", and "Bless the Lord, O my soul."
The priest, Eli, wasn’t very discerning that day - maybe he had other things on his mind, like the troubles in his family (2:12-17). He evidently thought that Hannah was nothing but a drunken, temple prostitute. She had to explain to him that she was praying, and that her prayer was coming out of her "anguish and grief".
We also want to see that Hannah was persistent with her prayer. Verse 12 says that she prayed, and "kept on praying."
As part of her prayer, Hannah also made a vow (v.11). Actually, it sounds more like a bargain than a vow - "if you will do ______, then I will do _______" Like the soldier who prays, "God, if you get me home alive, I’ll become a minister." Or the smoker who prays, "God, if you’ll help me kick this habit, I’ll work harder than anyone to keep cigarettes away from children and teenagers." Or like so many people, "Lord if you heal me, I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday." "Lord, if you bless my new company, I promise I’ll give you a tenth of all I earn."
Do you think that’s a good idea? To try to strike a bargain with God?
However, before we are too quick to either condemn or condone such behavior, let’s remember that Hannah had nothing to bargain with, she was simply making a vow to give back to God what was already His. And even if hers was a kind of bargain, it was a bargain with a vow, and she kept it. She evidently understood what Solomon would later say, "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:4)
Notice also how God blessed her with additional children - hers became a family of three sons and two daughters (2:21).
Then Hanna received the promise spoken by Eli she accepted it, and she believed it, she rejoiced, broke her fast, and smiled ("her face was no longer downcast" v.18). And finally, Hannah worshipped the Lord (v.19). And what’s important for us to see is that all this was prior to the fulfillment of the promise!
So what is it in your life that brings you to tears? What is it that causes bitterness and anguish of soul? "bitterness" can be defined as anything that causes you to be "chafed", "angry", "discontented", or "heavy". Or anything that causes you to be in constant "grief" which can also be defined as "anger", "vexation", or "provocation".
Notice that the condition of Hannah changed after her encounter with God. She started to live a normal life again (1 Samuel 1:18).
Something changed in Hannah’s heart before the child came. She believed God before she saw the result.
So Again I ask you What is the Peninnah in your life? Hannahs was another woman that could give her husband something that she couldn’t. Before Hannah overcame her Peninnah she had to go through years and years of being Harrased by it. Hannahs Peninnah came in the form of jealousy ,bitterness,anger,adn rivalry. Her Peninnah caused her to be miserable, to be in constant misery, mental and physical anguish, to the point where she couldn’t even eat. Hannah went through this year after year until she couldn’t take it anymore. So she ran to the throne of God and came boldly before his throne making her request known unto him and found mercy in her time of need. It wasn’t until she realized her need for God that she got blessed. Praise God
What do you need from God today is it salvation? is it away out of the misery and trouble that has taken root in your life? Is it help with a relationship gone sour? Have you lost your Job? Does your bills need to be paid? are you about to loose your Life ? Go before God he Hears you and he is listening. For we know that the effectual prayers of the righteous man availeth much. Below are some verses of how to pray to effectively pray to God
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:16
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom 8:26-27
Verily, verily, I [Jesus] say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my [Jesus’] name, he will give it you." John 16:23
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." 1Tim 2:8
But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him." Ps 4:3
So how do you overcome your Peninnah? You overcome your Peninnah by recognizing your need for Jesus in your life. You have to recognize that you can’t do anything without him. That without him your life would amount to nothing. Then you fall on your knees an pour out your heart to him through prayer. When you finish pouring out your heart to the LOrd ,you have to recognize that he will do JUst what he promised. For the bible says in 1 John 5:14-15
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
God is listening.so start talking to him. Amen
