Lady in Waiting...

I have been reading and a lot of the material I have come in contact to reading lately has been talking about waiting, being patient and putting your hope in the Lord. So I took it upon myself to read the story of Hannah for some insight. In 1Samuel Chapters 1 and 2 are telling the story of Hannah and her cry to God for help. Hannah was a barren woman. But being barren does not describe WHO Hannah is, yet because this was a known fact (everyone knew because she had no children)she was labeled and made fun of because of her barrenness. And to add insult to injury, her husband had another wife. This other wife made it hard for Hannah by rubbing it all in her face because she had children and Hannah did not. Sound familiar? This lady was using what God blessed her with to belittle another. Merriam-Webster defines barren as being not productive, not bearing fruit, devoid or lacking, lacking interest or charm, etc. Basically, barren means empty plain and simple. How many of us tend to feel barren in our own lives? I don't have that car. I don't have that job. My kids are lost and I don't know what to do. I don't have a husband. I know you're probably wondering what am I getting at because when we think of being barren, we automatically tend to think of not being able to bear children. But as I studied this thing, I was looking for God to speak to my situation. We all have situations...yep we do. I came to the idea that my barrenness may not be the same as your barrenness and vice versa. You see when God created us He already knew us. He already had our life story written, for He is Alpha and Omega; the author and finisher of our faith. He knew there would be some things we longed for in this life. Many of us could easily get to feeling like Hannah after year after year of no change in our condition or should I say our situation. Hannah was longing for a child, so much so that her husband felt sorry for her. He loved her and accepted her but this was not enough for Hannah. She could only could get what her heart was desiring from God. Remember I wrote in a post one time, "Lord help me to be able to handle what I have been desiring when you do give it to me"? Well, can we handle the gifts He gives? Do you think that is why we may be in waiting right now? Do you think that if He gave it to us we'd keep our end of the deal and honor Him and not make idols of the gifts? You see Hannah had gotten so bitter and hurt about this thing she was dealing with that she cried out to God in prayer. WAIT!!!!!!!!!!! You mean to tell me that this lady cried to God in prayer? To the same God that many probably teased her about and may have blamed for her barrenness. Yes! She did. God was her last hope. How many of you are down to your last hope right now? Hannah not only prayed and asked God to deliver her from that situation, but she also told Him that if He would grant her request to allow her to bear a son she would give her son back to Him. Now me personally, I'm thinking how in the world could this woman say this!?! Here she is begging for a son and now she's saying she's going to give him back. But as I pondered on this...I began to see just how strong Hannah was, just how strong her faith was. So now I'm like, God give me some of that faith like Hannah. Lord help me to cry out to you to deliver me from my barrenness. Lord help me to wait for you and your timing for I know that this is just a test of my faith. Lord help me to not grow weary in doing good and help me to believe that in due season I shall reap if I don't give up (Galatians 6:9). Guess what, Hannah got her wish, not only did God give her a son but He also gave her three sons and two daughters! What an AMAZING God we serve!! If He can do it for Hannah, ladies He can do it for us! Ladies, let us not grow weary in the wait. But let this be a time to surround ourselves with God. Some of us have a barrenness that's not as open for others to see, but guess what...God knows and He sees. He also sympathizes with us. He wants the very best for us. Whatever your barrenness is, I hope and pray for us all that we turn it over to God and trust Him and His timing. I pray for patience because it's going to take a lot of it. And when you have time, take a moment to read over Hannah's story in 1Samuel Chapters 1 & 2 and know that God has not forgotten you. "Don't get discouraged by what you see, but be encouraged by what you don't see". Blessings, ~Liz~