WHAT TO DO WITH A RIVAL

• DAY 150
• FEAR FILE: HANNAH
• SCRIPTURE: 1 SAMUEL 1

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children… 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 the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

I SAMUEL 1:1-7

It often hurts to see others effortlessly get something you’ve been praying and believing God for, especially if you think they don’t deserve it. However, it hurts more when they decide to rub it in your face or mock you. Such is the case with Hannah. She wanted a child, more than anything, but didn’t have one. Yet, somehow her annoying co-wife was dishing them out easily and she not only had to watch, she was ridiculed too.

Stuck With A Rival

Maybe it’s my overactive Nigerian mind, but I can almost hear it in my head. The constant insults mockery, snide comments, laughter, and disrespect. If it were the movies, every time the kids will come around her their mother will say, “Don’t go near the barren woman she cannot have kids and she wants to put her barrenness on my children.” Every pregnancy that Peninah had would have been a nightmare for Hannah. and yet she prayed constantly and God seems to not be listening, at least that’s what she may have thought.

What do you do when you have to wake up every single day to the existence of your greatest enemy? What do you do when the rival is right within your quarters? How do you manage your sanity, your emotional stability, your sense of self-esteem, your joy, your peace, and your hope? Because no matter what you tried you couldn’t take away this rival. Others get the luxury of walking away from a toxic environment but you don’t. So like any other person, you will feel downcast and depressed. Hannah was miserable and couldn’t eat. Her misery was the goal of her rival.

A Way of Escape

Sometimes we find ourselves caught in an impossible situation and this can be very depressing. Not to mention the amount of anxiety worry discomfort and everything it will create for you. But as we know by now, all of these emotions are born out of fear. Fear that we won’t have what the other person has. We are concerned and worried that God might not want to respond to our own cry. And the thing is you’re not even jealous, you just want to have your own prayers answered. But even in this situation, you should not be afraid because there is always hope.

God always makes a way of escape for us when we find ourselves in difficult trying seasons of our lives. A way to find comfort, hope, and joy in the midst of all the chaos. For Hannah, her way of escape was her husband. This man loved her so much even though she didn’t have a child. This was the major reason Penninah was so unruly.

The Heart

The thing is we will need to identify our way of escape and focus on it, for it to become our “happy place.” Instead, we focus on the problem and that’s why we get sad or depressed. We forget that our eyes lead the body and whatever we look at directs us. it feeds our minds with the thoughts that fills our heart and our heart affects our whole life.

Beloved, what are you focusing on? Hannah was focused on a rival she should have ignored and let her heart be polluted by sadness. To get her joy back she needed to focus on the blessing she had in her husband. Now don’t get me wrong, a husband is not a child. However, a person of faith knows that the way to have what it is they’re believing for is to maintain their joy. The Bible says, “With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” So joy is not something to lose.

A Fight For Joy

Joy requires a fight! Almost everything that has to do with our faith we’re going to have to fight for it. I’m not talking about punching somebody in the face I’m talking about putting on the whole armor of God and standing firm. Refusing to give up ground. Because somebody coming into our territory should not find it easy or even possible to succeed on their agenda.

So how do you fight to keep or get your joy back? First, believe that what you are asking God for, you already have, even though it has not manifested in the physical realm yet. Secondly, focus on the blessings that God has already given you. Thirdly, Constantly remind yourself of the promise that God made you hold o to that word. Finally, schedule praise into your day. Make it a habit to always come before God excited, glad, and full of praise just like you came before Him full of worries. When you take a praise break and dance and rejoice in the Lord you will notice that your mood will change and your heart will be full of joy.

Pray

Don’t forget to pray and ask God to open your eyes to the blessings around you that He wants you to focus on. Tell Him to help you in this season when you’re struggling to take your attention away from the things that are mocking you; so that you can focus on the things that He has blessed you with. Ask Him for Grace to continue to praise and trust Him. Because you know that He does not lie and He does not fail, so what He said He will do, is already done. Now give Him praise for it. In Jesus’ name.

Shalom