I'm getting better at writing shorter posts; I find it easier to keep it up when I do that. Oddly enough. Today I found myself extremely dialed into my reading of 1Samuel. I love it when God focuses me without my request. Every few verses embossed themselves. The setting came to life before my inner eye and I saw Peninnah, Elkanah's fruitful wife, keeping Hannah in tears most of the time, worried and harried and baited, verbally abused and emotionally ransacked 24-7-365. Imagine your worst household strife and multiply it by that equation!
Next scene. Hannah stands praying before the Tabernacle in such anguish of heart that only her lips move in silent prayer. The lazy and clueless High Priest Eli assumes she's drunk. When she corrects him (an amazing feat for an abused woman, when you think about it. She must have been made of stern stuff), he says, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."
And God did.
Now I'm not saying He did it only because Eli extended the blessing, but consider this: Eli had no idea what he'd given her with those words. Peace! Exactly what she needed in that household of strife and furry. On top of that he blessed a son to a barren womb. Life! Hope! In fact it says Hannah "went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." She took it to heart as a word from the Lord.
This ties back a few posts to speaking words of life. So many times in a given day we can extend blessings, and, like Eli, we may have no idea that they are fitly spoken words, like "apples of gold in settings of silver." How many words in your life experience, casually spoken, come back to bless you when you think on them?
I am encouraged to more intentionally sow my blessings like seed cast wide over all sorts of ground. Look what God can do with even the casual benediction of a fat, corrupt public official who wouldn't even rise from his place!
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