Take it to God.

Have you been battling with people speaking against you? Mocking you? Belittling and gossiping about you? Or are you on the other end of things? Do you spend a lot of your life worrying about other people’s lives and are constantly engaged in gossip and passing stories around?

If that is you, then this message is for you. But you know what? This message is for me too because I am afraid to say this. But we all go through this, and we all do this too! So, grab yourself some coffee, we got some learning to do.

SO, WHAT'S THIS MESSAGE ABOUT? IT'S A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE IMPACT OF NEGATIVE WORDS SPOKEN AND RECEIVED

So today, I want to highlight this portion of scripture which has been popping up everywhere I look. God has been speaking, and in turn, I did some reading and scribbled some thoughts down.

This portion of scripture deals with the seriousness of negative words spoken about you and the greater, deeper impact it causes to the person who utters those negative words. So, this applies to both parties, whether you are on the receiving or giving end.

 

1 Samuel 1:1-18 NIV

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s 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.

Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favour in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.”

 

A TALE OF TWO WIVES

So here, we have two women, who are of the same household, same family. Two women, who both, are broken and hurt. But both are hurting for two vastly distinct reasons. One woman is loved by her husband but has no children. The other, has numerous children, but is not loved by her husband.

How these women chose to handle their pain and how they interact with each other is quite an interesting read. Peninnah, who has children, but is not loved, choses to lash out at Hannah. While Hannah who has no children but deeply loved, handles her brokenness by internalizing her hurt and remains silent but also holds steadfast to her faith in God to one day bless her with a child.

 DO EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN?

When we look into Peninnah’s story, her hurt was caused by Elkanah, who showed his love to Hannah. Peninnah in turn continuously lashes out at Hannah and takes pleasure from her pain.

So, how many times do we come across women like Peninnah in our own lives. Women, who within their own lives are hurting. However, instead of dealing with their own personal issues, they distract themselves by lashing out and hurting other women? This kind of lashing out often manifests itself through mocking, gossip, slander, and accusations against other women. And they do this, to make themselves feel better about their own situations.

As women, we should not be breaking each other down, but instead building each other up. And if you find yourself tearing someone down, you need to see where that is coming from and deal with those issues. This is a spirit which needs to be dealt with.

WORDS HURT

A lot of people believe that words are just words, and they can have no direct impact on a person. You know the old kids’ nursery rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones. But words will never hurt me.”

But they do hurt, and we need to acknowledge the impact it may have on people.

Hannah was affected so deeply by Peninnah’s words. But we see that Elkanah could not make sense of it. To him, the fact that he was there for Hannah, should have been enough for her. But Hannah was deeply disturbed by her situation and Peninnah was not making things any easier. Peninnah brought her right to the point where she would constantly be brought to tears, and refused to eat.

What Elkanah failed to see was Hannah’s pain and desire to have a child was exacerbated by Peninnah’s words. It was bad enough that she could not have a child, but to hear of her failure to do the very thing that comes naturally to others was overwhelming for her. Even more so that she had to hear it every single day from someone from within her own household, who had not one but ten children. How awful.

But Hannah if anything held on to God. She was in pain and was being mocked for it. But she takes that hurt to God in prayer. Unlike Peninnah, who lashes out and continues to mock Hannah instead.

 WHEN BREAK-THROUGH COMES

The comforting part of this story is that, eventually Hannah does have a break-through. Even though she first had to have a break-down at the altar and in-front of Eli, the priest. Her pain overwhelmed her so much that Eli thought she was drunk. But Hannah breaks-down while praying in what she described as “praying out of her great anguish and grief.”

I think that many of us, me included, fail right here. We never take this kind of hurt to God in prayer. We try to handle it in our own way, by ourselves. And that is when we find ourselves completely breaking down or end up lashing out.

Do not ever underestimate the power of prayer and try to surround yourself with people who truly understand what you are going through. Find people who can pray, not just for you, but with you.

Eli even though he initially thought Hannah was drunk, understands her pain and he calms Hannah down, tells her to ‘Go in peace.’ And he prays that God would give her what she asked of Him.

Hannah’s greatest break-through came at that point of her completely surrendering to God. And by her doing so, it changed her completely. It was her faith and love for God, which delivered her from all those years of hurt and pain. The result was so great that you could see a physical transformation in her. The Bible says, “her face was no longer downcast.” She laid it all before Him, and God took that burden from her. So, she was no longer sad, no longer depressed but now she had an even greater faith that God will indeed fulfil her desire for a child.

The story goes on that she thereafter conceives, and Samuel was born.

GOD’S GLORY MADE MANIFEST

So, where did that now leave Peninnah?

Peninnah mocked Hannah for what she thought was barrenness, she mocked what seemed like Hannah’s inability to have children. And she did it every single day for years. And Hannah just consumed all that negativity in silence.

But here is the amazing thing, the Bible does not say Hannah was barren, it says, ‘God closed her womb.’ Meaning she could have children, but God stopped her from having a child, only for a season. And there are many times in the Bible when God does this very thing. He hardens hearts as He did with Pharaoh and closes wombs as with Hannah here in this story.

The reason for this is that God, wants His power and glory to be made manifest. He sees the bigger picture. With Pharaoh, the Red Sea would have never parted if God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart. It would have been so easy to make an easy escape out of Egypt if Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave. But God, harden his heart, and therefore Pharaoh refused to let them go. But look at how God in all His glory was seen when the Israelites escaped through the parted Red Sea. God made a way, when Pharaoh tried every means to keep them captive and closed every way out.

In this instance, God's power and glory was made manifest when Hannah who seemed incapable of having a child, has a child. His glory and power are further seen when Hannah gives up the very child she waited and prayed for. Just so that the greater plans of God could be fulfilled through Samuel’s life.

This is what makes mocking, slander, scandalizing and gossiping so dangerous. Because Peninnah thought she was just mocking Hannah for not having a child. But what she did not know, she was mocking the plan of God in Hannah’s life. The very thing that God wanted to manifest His glory through in Hannah, was now made fun of and ridiculed by Peninnah.

Watch what you are saying because you could be walking on dangerous grounds by taking pleasure of someone’s suffering.

 MOCKERS WILL BE SILENCED

I was interested to see how Peninnah’s story ends, because surely, there would have been consequences to her actions. But I could not find anything in the Bible. Neither Peninnah nor her children are ever mentioned in the Bible again.

What I did find was from other versions of the story found by scholars in other scriptures and manuscripts. Some say that two of Peninnah’s children die when Samuel was born, and she goes on to see a total of eight of her ten children pass away. I think I prefer the Bible’s silence on the matter.

HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE

Depression, rejection, and negative words spoken over you do have an impact and can cause great pain, but it is something that God can and will deliver you from.

But also keep in mind that if you tend to lash out, gossip or outright take pleasure from hurting others. Then things are not as they should be in your own life. You need to check where it stems from and deal with that hurt. If not, there can be severe consequences which you will then have to face.

What we learn from these two ladies, is what to do and what not to when we are faced with these challenges. But for both ladies the answer remains the same, take it to God in prayer.

As the song writer of one of the greatest hymns ever written, says…

“O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

 

All my Love...