When the LORD puts people on hold, it is for a greater purpose. Peninnah had children, while Hannah had no children. While Peninnah cruised through life, Hannah was stuck in a spot. Adding to the misery, Peninnah provoked Hannah severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb. So it was, year by year, when Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, that Peninnah provoked her, therefore Hannah wept and did not eat.
Years went by and Hannah was still left to wait. Intense words express Hannah’s emotional state – bitterness of soul, anguished in weeping, a sorrowful spirit, complaint and much grief. Hannah was at the end of her rope. She made a vow before the LORD and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life; and no razor shall come upon his head”. 1 Samuel 1:11
God molds His children to fulfil His purpose for them especially in their time of waiting. No wait time goes to waste for His children. When the appointed wait time comes to pass, Hannah gets to the point where she is willing to make the vow to the LORD that she will give the child back to Him. She makes the demand for a male child, even though this child is not hers to keep anymore.
With Hannah’s vow, her wait time before the LORD, who had closed her womb also came to an end. Isn’t it amazing? When we fret and moan thinking that we are the ones who are waiting for God, isn’t God also waiting for us, along with us, waiting for us to in align to His heart, so that He can accomplish His higher purpose in us and through us.
1 Samuel 1:20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him from the LORD”.
Peninnah had children, but none significant enough for their names to be mentioned. But Hannah’s loan to the LORD Samuel surpassed Eli in hearing from God at a very young age.
1 Samuel 2:20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD”.
21. And the LORD visited Hannah(same as Sarah – Genesis 21:1) so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.
Isaiah 49:23 For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.
Jesus shows grace to the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. The scribes and pharisees were more interested in testing and trapping Jesus, at the cost of this woman. Yes, the woman did commit sin, for which the judgement according to the Law of Moses was stoning to death. Jesus, however, showed grace to the woman. Jesus brought conviction to those wanting to stone her in judgement. At least one stone could have been thrown at her by the only one who was without sin – Jesus. But Jesus did not punish her. Jesus showed her grace instead. Grace accomplishes what punishment cannot.
My mother and I are witnesses of such amazing grace. My mother went to be with the Lord on February 2nd, 2021. She was diagnosed with terminal illness. On December 23rd, she was admitted in the hospital. The doctor had given her only 3 days to live. I was not informed of how critical her condition really was, but was asked to visit her immediately. Even though I am the only child to my parents, I did not have a good relationship with my parents. Our family had a history of broken mother-daughter relationships. God gave me the verse Joshua 1:9 three times.”Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” I started my travel arrangements. With much hesitation and fear, I asked , “Lord, what do I do? what do I do? “. Just then, the worship leader started singing a song that I remembered as a song sung at funerals. I was so taken aback and instantly asked, “Lord, what are you saying?”. Right away I decided to go to see my mother. I reached home on Jan 15th.In those 2 weeks, God had prepared me for the task of leading my mother’s soul to Jesus. I went to see my mother at her home. I was shocked to see that she had become extremely thin and beyond recognition. She held my hand and said, “I am going to Jesus“. I was speechless. That same night, she was admitted in the hospital.
A friend had reminded me that my first duty was to lead her to Jesus and so I went to the hospital the next morning, held her hands and prayed a prayer of repentance with her. I asked her to get everything right with God, forgive anyone whom she had not forgiven, let go of worldly concerns, etc. I did all this without really knowing that she had only days left to live. Everyday I prayed holding her hands. Each day, I read many Psalms from the Bible to her. As I read, our hearts just rejoiced. Then God gave me the wisdom to ask her to repeat as I read and she would do that. One day as I said, “shall we read Psalms 91?”, without waiting, she quoted the entire Psalm 91. I recorded this moment and that is the last memory I have of her.
I started spending more time at the hospital, reading God’s Word to her and playing some good Christian messages for her. Doctors were suggesting to discharge her and take her home as they didn’t have any further treatment options to offer. But even with all this, my mind still could not understand that she had only few days left to live. I prayed for a miracle and I believed that she still had time left. I simply could not understand that she had only days left.
On Sunday, as there was no one else to help, God gave me the grace to clean my mother and change her soiled clothes, all by myself. The nurse was so surprised to hear that I cleaned and changed her clothes single handedly. I had never taken care of any adult until then. But as I cleaned my mother, I truly felt that that made Jesus happy. It felt like I had done just what He had desired of me.
As doctor continuously suggested to discharge her, I agreed to take out mother to our home on Jan 27th. The Psalm that I read for her that day was Psalm 116. As I came to verse 15, I had a hard time reading out loud”Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” My mother repeated it along with me. I felt so sad that I had picked this chapter to read without seeing this verse. That morning, a friend posted a song and I instantly learnt the second stanza which talked about God being both my father and mother. I was singing that song repeatedly in my mother’s room that morning. She told me to “buy a Bible with big letters. Read it for your dad just like you did for me”. That was the last thing she instructed me to do.
I started the discharge procedure. At around 10:30 am, she suddenly made gasping sounds. When we asked , she said she had trouble breathing. The doctor asked her what was happening and she replied, “I am going to Jesus”. When a nurse said “don’t be scared” , she replied,”I am not scared”. She was so calm and peaceful as she answered. Then she just repeated, “Jesus, Jesus”. She was admitted in the ICU with oxygen support. As I waited in front of the ICU, I broke down and cried several times, as I remembered this song that I kept singing about God being my father and mother. I believe God was comforting me through this song, even before my mother’s passing.
From there, things only went downhill. She moved from an oxygen tube to a ventilator. Doctor told me to inform the relatives. I had not told my dad about how serious mother’s illness was. Her siblings and many other relatives came to the hospital to see her. On Friday the 29th, when I called her, she opened her eyes and looked at me. I rubbed her arms and said, “mother, I am here”. But her arm hurt as I rubbed, so I just rubbed her shoulder. That was the last time she responded to me.
Since the, the doctor said that she was 100% on the ventilator and that there was no hope left. On Saturday, as I spoke to the doctor, I broke down and said that I could not decide whether to remove my mother from the ventilator or not. I continuously prayed asking God to keep me from making this decision. However, it seemed like this was the only prayer that God wouldn’t answer. I suddenly remembered being mentioned that God won’t take the believing loved ones unless we surrender them to Him wholeheartedly. A friend helped to pray that even after we remove her from ventilator, as it is God who gives us breath, He would give her the breath if it is His will. After this prayer, I had peace about that decision.
On February 1 morning, I went to talk to the doctor. As I waited outside, I prayed for God to help me make the right decision. As I started speaking to the doctor, I felt so much peace and I told him that I am ready to let her go. The doctor said that he will first start weaning my mother off of the medicines she was on, and then will gradually remove her from the ventilator. My mother was off the ventilator that night. But against all odds, she continued to breathe. Even the doctor was surprised.
On February 2nd, by evening, my mother’s oxygen levels dropped down. I still did not understand. I was at the hospital till 7pm. After that, I went home. I called my dad at 8:10. When he asked how she was, I answered, “she will go to heaven whenever her time comes”. I came to know that my mother went to be with the Lord at 8:14 pm. She went to be with the Lord, just when I was saying the above words to my dad. I reached the hospital after 45 minutes. As I saw her face, she had this glorious smile. For one who was on tubes for days, she had a very happy smile. The smile was the evidence that she went to heaven just as she said. February 2nd also happens to be the death anniversary of her mother. She did not have a good relationship with her mother, but what are the odds that both my mother and my grandmother share the same death anniversary date.
My mother and I are witnesses of this amazing grace of Jesus. An entire life time of broken relationship was restored by Jesus in two weeks. Now all I can remember about my mother is this perfect mother-daughter relationship in Christ. He showed grace to my mother in so many ways. My mother always prayed that she would leave without suffering much from sickness. God truly honored that prayer. Though she was diagnosed with terminal cancer that had spread to multiple organs, she did not suffer a bit of pain from cancer. She did not have to leave this world with a broken relationship with me, but left happy and peacefully, giving me the privilege of having taken care of her in every way I possible could, even if it was only for two weeks. Though her life was nothing but broken pieces, she always held on to God. She did not know to let go of some baggage. God taught me about that and sent me to her to help her let go of those burdens she was carrying, preparing her for heaven. God saved me from having to live with a lifelong regret due to our broken relationship. Instead, He restored our relationship. Everyone who I have spoken to in these weeks, have experienced the grace and reconciliation of Jesus. I will continue to proclaim of this amazing grace of Jesus, for His glory. Amen!
Sometimes our problems can be too embarrassing that it is hard to even ask God for a deliverance. A woman having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, is a perfect example for the scenario. She is probably the only person who could not openly ask Jesus Christ for a healing, because her issue was too embarrassing to be addressed publicly. But that did not stop her from having faith to receive healing from the King of compassion. She thought to herself, “ It is ok if I can’t ask out loud, I can still touch Him and receive healing. He doesn’t even have to know. It is enough if I touch Him. If He can touch the blind and the lepers and heal them, I should receive healing too, by touching Him”. And she was healed immediately.
Jesus wanted to honor her faith and asked who touched Him. If not for that confrontation, the woman would have missed out on an opportunity to glorify God. She came trembling and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace”.Luke 8:48
Let us boldly take our untouchable issues to the creator of the Universe. Nothing is too filthy for Him to cleanse. He has seen it all and yet loves us enough that He laid down His life for us on the cross.
As we grow in our relationship with God, we understand the character and the heart of our Almighty God and God opens our eyes to see how He ordains each happening in our lives.
Along with the other beautiful women, Esther was also taken to the King’s palace. Let us see the order of events that happened to understand the ordaining wisdom of our Almighty God.
Esther, instantly got favor in the custodian’s eyes. She got special favor in the King’s eyes too. Without second thoughts, the King made her the queen. God gives special favor for His children.
Mordecai discovered the plot against the King and reports it to Esther. Esther informs the King in Mordecai’s name. She did not take credit for informing the plot. She gave the credit to Mordecai for whom it was due.
Haman – an Amalakite – received the highest honor next to the King. The King himself had commanded that everyone including the royal officials at the King’s gate should bow down or kneel down and pay respect to Haman. Amalakites were God’s enemies whom God desired to eradicate from the face of earth. Mordecai obeyed God by not bowing down before His enemies. Standing up for God demands us to take sharp turns towards God. Mordecai did the right thing by saving the King’s life, but when a choice had to be made between obeying the King’s command and God’s command, he chose to obey God.
Because of the anger Haman had against Mordecai, he tricks the King to sign a decree against the Jews.
Hearing this news, Mordecai wore sack cloth and wailed as he went to the King’s gate and conveys the news to Esther and asks her to plead to the King for mercy. He reminded her that God will save His people one way or the other. It is her choice to be part of saving His children.
Esther asks her people for a fasting prayer and then takes action. She risks her life and goes to the King. God gives favor in the King’s eyes again.
God put His wisdom in her request to the King. Instead of asking for mercy, she invites the King and Haman for a dinner.
Haman, instead of rejoicing about the special dinner invite, is consumed with anger over Mordecai and makes gallows for Mordecai.
Because of God’s ordaining hands, that night, the King could not sleep. He asks for the book of good deeds to be read and finds out about Mordecai’s good deed. In the mean time, Haman comes to the courts to request for death sentence for Mordecai – as if eradicating the entire community of Jews is not enough.
God’s divine intervention causes all honor which was recommended by Haman ,to be given to Mordecai. To Haman’s extreme humiliation, all honor was done to Mordecai by Haman himself.
Hearing this, Haman’s wife and friends realize that Haman’s downfall has started and that God of Israel will protect His children.
Esther reveals the plot of Haman to the King on the next day. Haman was hung to death in the same gallows that he prepared for Mordecai.
Take aways:-
Do the right thing in God’s eyes – even if we have to do it all by ourselves.
God will surely defend His children, when we take a stand for Him.
God’s wisdom thwarts the crooked wisdom of His enemies.
Allow God to write your story. He writes the best story for His children who obeys Him.
Bethesda means “House of Mercy”. What happened at Bethesda? A crippled man who had been an invalid for 38 long years was also beside the pool, along with multitude of sick people, each awaiting the stirring of the pool by an angel. The first one to get into the water while the water was stirred got healed. This man waited for his turn for 38 long years. Jesusseeshim.
Jesusknew that he was awaiting his turn for a long time. Yet he asks “do you want to be healed?”. We also tend to lose focus and hope and “waiting” might become a habitual act, lacking expectation. Jesusstirsinhope into this man by asking this question. When our Hope becomes crippled with the wait and our wait becomes a habitual act, Jesus comes to us and meets us where we are and stirs in hope. The man hoped for a helping hand from Jesus to get to the pool. But with Jesus, a word is all that is needed to put an end to our crippling wait.
Today our wait can also be for many things – healing, deliverance, fulfilling of promise, blessing-the list goes on. Jesus sees us, knows our wait time, comes and meets us where we are, stirs in hope and then with a word, puts an end to our wait.
Just as this man and multitudes of others waited for an angel, today there are multitudes of people who are stumbling in the dark, trying to find meaning in their money, status, power etc. They are as helpless as this man as they do not have anyone to intercede for them in prayer for their salvation. Their life wastes away in despair. As believers, it is our responsibility to intercede for anyone God puts in our path so that God would redeem their soul through salvation and free them from the infirmity.
