“And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” (1Sam 1:6-7NIV)
The bible story of Hannah is a very popular one. And it is popular because of the prayer she offered to God for a child and the result that followed. But what drove this woman to pray earnestly concerning her barrenness? It was the harassment that she constantly suffered from her rival that drove her to do so.
As the story goes, Hannah was very much loved by her husband, Elkanah. And though we are not told this in the bible, it could be because she had been barren that the man decided to have another wife who would give him children. Having another wife, however, did not make Elkanah stop loving Hannah. He kept on showering love on her, so that she would not ruin herself with depression because of her childlessness. (Cf. 1Sam 1:3-8)
What this means is that if this woman had not had any rival in her home, she may not have taken that bold step of faith to pray earnestly to God about her problem. But she had a rival. Peninnah was her name. And it was this Peninnah that God used to eventually drive the woman to pray to receive not just one child but six children (1Sam 2:18-21).
How, then, did that happen? As the account further shows us, Peninnah made sure life was miserable for Hannah because of her childlessness. In other words, she kept on doing and saying things that would provoke her and make her cry over and over again. Why? Maybe she wanted her to abandon her home and run away or to kill herself or to just do something stupid that would remove her from that family. Only God could have known exactly what was on her mind.
At any rate, the fact is that the world has never had a shortage of people like Peninnah. They are the kind that always use others’ predicaments, handicaps, lack or weaknesses to taunt them or drive them crazy. They are nothing but oppressors. And perhaps you even have one or more of them around you now. They can be a neighbour, a colleague at work or a family member. But you can see that they are doing all they can to make life uneasy or miserable for you because you do not have certain things they have or because you are not able to do certain things they are able to do. They are the Peninnah in your life.
Now I want you to know that such people have no fear or knowledge of God in them at all. Otherwise, they would have known that there is nothing they themselves have that they have not received from God. And since they have received everything from Him, they have no right to boast about anything they have that gives them an edge over others or to despise those who do not have what they have. (Cf. 1Cor 4:7)
But then, should you surrender yourself to their harassment, oppression or threats and put yourself at their mercy? No! Should you allow them to continue to make you mad, depressed or sorrowful? No! Or should you allow them to make you embrace wickedness and begin to fight them back with anything you can think of or lay your hands on? No!
See, one main reason Satan is using such people against you is to make you lose your faith in God. And once you lose your faith in God, you are going to destroy your character and, of course, your life. That way, your enemies would have won. So, don’t give them any reason to rejoice over your ruin or defeat. Instead, act like Hannah. And what did Hannah do? Hannah prayed to God.
Why did she pray to God? First, it was because she realised that by crying all the time and going crazy because of what Peninnah was doing, she was just giving her more power over her. More so, her crying and going crazy could not in any way solve the problem. On the contrary, it may even make her kill herself or everybody in the house someday. So, she gave up on crying and going crazy and instead prayed to God. And she prayed to Him because she knew that He had the power to solve her problem and change her story. Did He, then, solve her problem and change her story or not? He did.
Mind you, as the bible points out to us, from the moment she prayed to God about the matter, the peace of God took charge of her life and she was no longer sorrowful (1Sam 1:18). So, if you too have any Peninnah in your life. Don’t give them more power by crying or going mad because of what they are doing to frustrate you. And don’t allow them to drive you to become like them by embracing wickedness or idolatry of any form. Instead, see whatever they are doing as God’s means of driving you to earnestly pray to Him about the matter at hand. And just as He comforted and vindicated Hannah, He will comfort and vindicate you too, if you don’t give up.
Cheers!
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