The {JOY} of the Lord

I found some notes in my kitchen binder that reminded me of a couple friends who are going through two very different difficult situations. I hope it is an encouragement to them, as well as you!

Joy sings in the fire. Joy glorifies God through tears and pain. Joy spurs us to give thanks for God's goodness, even when our circumstances are not good! Joy prompts us to offer a sacrifice of praise...even when there is no apparent reason to celebrate. Ask God to bless you with joy in the Lord as you walk with Him through every day.

Her life was hard and her circumstances dark, but Hannah, nevertheless knew the brilliant joy of the Lord. As the book of 1 Samuel opens, we learn right away Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah, "and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children" (1:2) Year after year, Peninnah flaunted her ability to bear children before Hannah, moving her to tears and prompting her to loose her appetite.

How would you cope with Peninnah's provocation if you were Hannah? And, more realistically, how are you handling what God is doing (or not doing!) in your life right now? Hannah has much to teach us.

Hannah quietly endured her pain.
By having no children, Hannah was considered a failure and social embarrassment. Each day she suffered ill treatment from the woman with whom she shared her beloved husband. Then, when she went to the temple to pour out her heart to God, the high priest misread her agony as drunkenness (verse 13). Despite all the pain, we never read about words of anger, or self pity coming from Hannah's lips. She looked to the Lord instead of lashing out at her husband or her provoker.

Hannah never acted out of vengeance.
She did not seek retribution upon Peninnah or Elkanah. She didn't even complain to her husband about what was going on, a report which may have turned him against her rival.

Hannah sought God through prayer.(1 Samuel 1:10-16)

Instead of turning to others, Hannah turned to the Almighty, knowing He was the ONLY One who could understand her difficulties and the ONLY One who could do anything about it. In these black days of Hannah's life, she looked to God to be her source of joy and hope, lifting her problems to Him and hoping in His promises. Her joy came from God alone.

Hannah rejoiced as she offered her son to God.
As she cried out in prayer, Hannah vowed that is He gave her a son, she would give him back to the Lord all the days of his life. God Almighty answered her prayer and gave her Samuel. True to her word, Hannah gave him back to the Lord-probably at the tender age of three years old.And as she did, she prayed "My heart rejoices in the Lord, my strength is exalted in the Lord,  smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation."(1 Samuel 2:1)

From: A Woman's Walk with God by Elizabeth George.