Harnessing Your Pain
Harnessing your pain by definition would be:
Taking advantage of contrary circumstances for your maximum benefit.
Using negative external circumstances as a spring board into a positive future
Becoming a master over the storms of our lives.
In the book of 1 Samuel 1, we read about a woman named Peninnah. Usually when we read this story we relate with Hannah. Hannah is the lead character. We relate with Hannah and we want Hannah’s outcome to be our outcome. Her faith is admirable and so we take the example from her-desiringher faith to be our faith.
When we read this text, it is possible to gloss over Peninnah. The brief mention of her name and dealings is quickly discardedas we move on to celebrate Hannah’s happy ending and God’s deliverance.
Nobody prays for pain.
We pray to be delivered out of pain.
We want that whatever pain we have beremoved as quickly as possible and we do not wish to remember the anguish of it.
Peninnah was Hannah’s co-wife. Based on the order that scripture lists these wives of Elkanah, it is commonly surmised that Hannah was the first wife and Peninnah was later taken on as wife due to Hannah’s inability to conceive.
Scripture says Peninnah had children but Hannah had none (1 Samuel 1:2).
The text tells us that whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb (1 Samuel 1:5).
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 theLord, that she provoked her; therefore Hannahwept and did not eat (1 Samuel 6-7).
Peninnah, in this story typifies pain, an irritation, something that provokes you. The thorn in your flesh, something that causes misery. The type of thing, a pain so deep, that causes you to blame yourself and to blame God too.
Like Hannah, year after year,thatPeninnah, the irritation will not go away, it keeps on provoking you.
Like Paul cried out to God three times to take the thorn away (2 Corinthians 2:8), you have cried and asked God to take it away but youwake up and its still there.
It is in your bed, your workplace and your family.
It keeps provoking you to your face.
Sometimes these pains are the things from our past that follow us into the future and provoke us to the face saying, “well remember what you did 5years ago, 6 years ago, 10 years ago! Do you really think God loves you?
Opening us to doors of torment as we wonder if truly we will ever be delivered.
These pains will make you seem unworthy, like the blessings of God are only available to a select few.
Peninnah, this pain that provokes,will push you into much irritation that you cry out to God “was I made for anything good?” Causing you to suffer shame and you think, “will I ever amount to anything?”
Such is the pain when you are always broke and begging and all your friends seem to have succeeded in life.
Such is the pain when you’re a pastor; a woman of honour in society married to drunkard of a man, a scoundrel.
Such is the pain when all your friends are married with children and youare still looking for a husband.
Such is the pain when you have been job-hunting for years and nothing seems to work out.
But Peninnah, this thing of pain,has a purpose. And this is our encouragement in this story.
When the Lord delivered Hannah, Peninnah was forever forgotten, her short-lived purpose in the text is one of producing pain that pushed Hannah into expansion and blessings.Our tormentorsoften disappear once wedeliver.
The pain has a purpose.
If we shall maintain our confidence firmly placed in the Lord, he will cause us to bring forth success even while we are still in pain.
No matter what the situation looks like, my prayer for you is that like Hannah,may your Peninnah push you to your knees.
In her deep anguish,Hannah prayed to the Lord weeping bitterly so much so that Eli the priest thought she was drunk.(1 Samuel 10-14)
My encouragement to you is thatwhen God restores, everyone will see it.
Like Hannah who brought forth the prophet Samuel it will not only be to your
benefit but to the benefit of generations to come.
They may have hurt you, abused you, abandoned you, mistreated you, lied about you, discounted you but I have good news for you today, God has good plans for you.
Weeping may have endured for a night but joy comes in the morning.
He gives us beauty for ashes.
That pain has a purpose.
Let us be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
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Supporting Scripture: Psalm 37
Be Blessed.
