"Rest at Shiloh"

Written by Dot McGinnis


He Remembered ... "Rest at Shiloh" I Samuel 1:1-28

The LORD closed Hannah's womb; not because he didn't love her or because he wanted to see her suffer like she did. No, it was because Hannah's life was going to be blessed by Him in a unique and special way, and used to bring glory to His Holy name. But, before Hannah could be blessed by Him, she had to first be broken.

The trip to Shiloh was 30 miles, round trip. Year after year Hannah, Peninnah, and Elkanah made that journey to worship their God. Thoughts of Shiloh should have brought Hannah joy, in her heart, and peace of mind. One ofrepparttar Hebrew definitions for Shiloh is "a place of rest." But, rest isn't what Hannah found on her journey there. Instead, she found only shame and sorrow. For, she was constantly belittled and degraded by Peninnah; who took great pleasure in flaunting, in front of her, what Hannah feared fate would never bless her with--a child.

It isn't recorded, anywhere else in scripture, about Peninnah's constant badgering of Hannah, except for onrepparttar 135181 road to Shiloh;repparttar 135182 place of worship,repparttar 135183 place of rest.

If Hannah hadn't gone torepparttar 135184 house ofrepparttar 135185 Lord withrepparttar 135186 others, to worship, she would never have had all ofrepparttar 135187 added pain and heartache to deal with that she had. Still, Hannah went. And, if Hannah hadn't gone to Shiloh, she might never have received her "Samuel" fromrepparttar 135188 Lord.

It seems thatrepparttar 135189 irritation, from Hannah's rival, was all a part of God's divine plan. For, He allowed Hannah to be tortured by Peninnah, year after year.

He had to get Hannah torepparttar 135190 point of brokenness, to where she was willing to sacrifice her heart's desire to Him so that He could then give it back to her.

It had been God's intention to bless Hannah all along. But, Hannah's sacrifice had to come first. Year after year, Elkanah sacrificed untorepparttar 135191 Lord. Now, it was Hannah's turn.

Hannah was a woman with a broken spirit. But, this year, something different happened that would changerepparttar 135192 course of history forever. It all happened because of a sacrifice that was made that day, at Shiloh, by Hannah ~ to a God who listens, hears, understands, sees, knows, cares, and remembers!

He listens to her weeping. He hears her mournful sighs. He understands her sorrow. He sees her downcast eyes.

He knows her heart is breaking. He cares about her pain. She lays her Isaac at His feet. She chooses Him to reign.

She stands no longer broken. She turns to walk away, Her sacrificial journey made. She's forever changed, today.

He gave her "rest" at Shiloh. She gave her heart's desire. He remembered, in due season. His will would soon transpire. ~ * ~

"... Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, andrepparttar 135193 LORD remembered her."

I Samuel 1:19

We can learn so much, from Hannah's actions, within this passage. In I Samuel 1:9, it says, "... Hannah stood up."

This denotes action. Hannah had enough. She made a choice: an act ofrepparttar 135194 will. You can stay bruised, broken, and bleeding forever, if you want to (for whatever reason) or you can (by an act ofrepparttar 135195 will) choose to do something about it.

Standing up is halfrepparttar 135196 battle. We have a choice. It’s up to us. Jesus said, in John 14:1, "... Do not let your hearts be troubled ..." How do we not let our hearts do this? The verse goes on to say, "Trust in God, trust also in Me." This is what Hannah did. No longer was she going to pity herself or nurse her own wounds. She, instead, submitted them; to Him whose name is as ointment poured forth. (Song of Solomon 1:3)

Hannah had no child. But,repparttar 135197 reason she was wounded was not because she didn't have a child. What wounded Hannah most was how she reacted torepparttar 135198 fact that she didn't have a child. It was her attitude, her outlook, that caused her to suffer. So, in this respect, Hannah's wounds were self-inflicted.

Hannah should never have allowed Peninnah to steal her joy. Hannah's husband loved her so much that he gave her a double portion. He loved her, in spite of her barrenness (1:5-6). But, Hannah kept focusing on what she didn't have, not on what she had (1:7-8).

She never counted her blessings. Instead, Hannah looked at her loss. She "let" her heart be troubled.

The next thing Hannah did was she prayed, she knelt down. She turned torepparttar 135199 Lord; she reached out to God in prayer.

Take note of how Hannah prayed:

Hannah prayed honestly, Vs. 10 sacrificially, Vs. 11 persistently, (she never gave up. Vs. 12) she prayed fromrepparttar 135200 heart, Vs. 13 she prayed in faith believing, Vs. 18 Hannah poured out her soul torepparttar 135201 Lord, Vs. 15 she found a release in prayer.

Hannah confessed her sins. She bared her soul. She knew where and to Whom to turn--her God.

"... Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast." Verse 18

Hannah cried out torepparttar 135202 Lord, in verse 11, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me…" And, inrepparttar 135203 course of time, God's perfect time, He did indeed remember. Verse 19

Eli (the one who should have given herrepparttar 135204 most comfort;repparttar 135205 most pity, understanding, and direction) failed Hannah, miserably, that day. Even priests are prone to make mistakes. Eli saw his own son's actions, heard tell about them. Yet, he hid his face from them (2:12,22 and 3:13-14). He saw Hannah crying out to God and he misjudged her. He watched her, in her misery, and gave her wrong advice. Eli watched her movements; her actions. Yet, he misunderstood them. He thought she was drunk! Outward appearances aren't always what they seem! He didn't know what was going on inside Hannah's heart. Hannah defended herself. She didn't let Eli's remark discourage or offend her because, at this point, she had her eyes fixed totally on God (1:14-16).

A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams

Written by Rev.Anthony Smith


A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams

Matthew 19:17-19:23

A Poor Man, With Rich Mans Dreams Have you ever heardrepparttar phrase, a poor man with rich mans dreams? Many people in this life are completely exhausted byrepparttar 135163 race to wealth and prosperity. Looking for today and not for tomorrow. The poor man has only today, struggling to make ends meet, putting food onrepparttar 135164 table for his family and hoping thatrepparttar 135165 next phone call he gets, isn’t from his boss, telling him that he no longer has a job. I’ve seen many this past week, loose every thing that they’ve had, home, furniture, everything. The only thing these people have now isrepparttar 135166 cloth on their backs. There are approximately 195 verses in scripture concerningrepparttar 135167 poor . The Bible states that God, createsrepparttar 135168 Rich andrepparttar 135169 poor. But there is no difference between them when it comes to judgments. A poor man dreams of a better day, without debt, without worry, without strife. He dreams sweet dreams of a day when he can rest from his labor and dreams of family, babies and his wife. The rich man has troubled sleep, worried about finances, and national debt, about rising oil prices and interest rates. His days are filled with worry over thoughts of others trying to take what he has. Inrepparttar 135170 story of Matthew 19:17-23 we are shown a good example of failure to abide byrepparttar 135171 great commandment inrepparttar 135172 law. Which to me isrepparttar 135173 greatest commandment of all. Mat 22:36-38 Master, which isrepparttar 135174 great commandment inrepparttar 135175 law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt loverepparttar 135176 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This isrepparttar 135177 first and great commandment. Now lets look at failure to abide by this commandment. Mat 19:17-23 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keeprepparttar 135178 commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give torepparttar 135179 poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But whenrepparttar 135180 young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter intorepparttar 135181 kingdom of heaven. Pro 3:13 Happy isrepparttar 135182 man that findeth wisdom, andrepparttar 135183 man that getteth understanding Psa 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eatrepparttar 135184 bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. There is no need for a poor man, who puts his trust in God to worry. The poor man is confident inrepparttar 135185 Lord to provide him his daily needs. Psa 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

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