Determination That Will Make A Difference
When I think about someone in the Bible that definitely made a difference because of the faithfulness to God that she possessed, perhaps there is no woman that deserves greater honor in the Old Testament than Hannah. Hannah possessed an unshakeable belief that “WHATEVER GOD PROMISES, HE SHALL DELIVER!”
... It’s not that Hannah never experienced her own trials and challenges in this life…but Hannah refused to give up on God. She was a woman who possessed “DETERMINATION THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN HER DESTINY!”
How is it that each of us can come to the place in our experiences with God that we can learn how to possess a “DETERMINATION THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE” in our lives and in our world?
Hannah’s husband may have loved her, but she suffered from a malady that he was totally unable to help her to overcome, FOR SHE WAS BARREN. And despite the pain of Hannah, God had a purpose in it all…for Scripture tells us that it was “The LORD (who) had closed her womb.” God would use the pain of her being childless to accomplish something great in her life. Hannah was also learning a valuable lesson of life: ***That even though things were hard, she nevertheless understood that God was still in charge!***
Often, we don't understand God's ways, until He has finished accomplishing His purpose. Hannah has a barren womb, but she possesses a Fruitful Spirit. So you just “hold on” because before her life has run its course, GOD IS GOING TO USE THIS WOMAN!”
There is something called “REALITY” that all of us live in so let me be perfectly honest with all of you. Somewhere, down Life’s Road, before we have finished our course, most of us, as well, will experience our own “ANGUISH OF SOUL.” I’m not trying to discourage anybody, but I am trying to prepare somebody for some things that very well will probably come your way, if you haven’t had to confront it already.
Most of us will one day face that situation, that circumstance, that fiery trial, where we, just like Hannah, will have cried out unto the Lord, and where we agonized with God and where we prayed earnestly, and we prayed fervently, and we poured our very souls to God and yet, “NOTHING HAPPENED” it was as our prayers had fallen powerlessly back to the ground! And it’s always during those most difficult times in our lives that the devil whispers in our ears, “Why don’t you just go ahead and curse God and die? For God doesn’t love you and God doesn’t care about you anymore because if He did, then why did He allow ‘THIS’ to happen to you?”
It was here that Hannah had reached the “CROSSROADS OF HER LIFE.” She had many issues going on in her life. Her husband’s love was “divided” to say the least. Her hopes had been repeatedly dashed. She was misunderstood by her husband and continually tormented by her adversary. Yet in all those things, HANNAH DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD!
Even though her heart was continually crushed and broken under the load of the weight that she carried in silence, Hannah had learned to release her frustrations through a meek and broken spirit…HER HARDSHIPS SIMPLY STIRRED HER TO PRAY THAT MUCH MORE TO THE HEAVENLY FATHER. And no matter what the final outcome of the crises that she now found her life in, Hannah had learned how to totally commit the whole situation to the LORD! It’s certainly one of the toughest things that any of us will ever learn how to do!
Eli the Priest took note of Hannah’s prayers. She tells him that she has come there to pour her soul out to God that He might grant her petition. He suddenly realizes his own error thinking that she was drunk, and praying in her behalf, requests of the Lord that he might grant her answer to her request.
Hannah doesn’t weep any longer before God. Why? What was it that suddenly and instantaneously altered her countenance? It was this: “Hannah Was a Woman Willing to Take God at His Word!”
She’d asked God for a boy and God had sent His servant to her to confirm that He was going to grant her request. AND SO STRONG WAS HER FAITH IN GOD’S WORD THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NOT ONE SINGLE SIGN THAT EVEN HINTED THAT HER SITUATION HAD CHANGED… YET, SHE HAD COMPLETE CONFIDENCE THAT IF GOD SAID IT WAS AS GOOD AS DONE!
So confident was Hannah that God was going to grant her request, that immediately her sorrow turned into joy. She went and shared it with her husband and Scripture tells us that “THEY” came and worshipped before the Lord. Her godly “DETERMINATION HAD MADE A DIFFERENCE” in just a few short months both would live to see their “hopes and dreams come to fruition!”
No, it wasn’t an immaculate conception. They still had to “Do Their Part” in fulfilling the promise, AND WHEN THEY DID, THEN GOD TOOK CARE OF ALL THE REST!
The same can be true for me and for you, if only we will be willing to trust God like that. May God help us to make sure that our “DETERMINATION IS SUCH THAT IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIVES…AND IN OUR HOMES…AND IN OUR CHURCHES…AND IN OUR WORLD TOO!”
Food For Thought
Pastor Ken Jones
Mrs. JoAnn and Pastor Ken Jones
Who We Are....We are committed to equipping our church and our community with the tools needed to take back America for Jesus!
We are a Spirit filled body with contemporary worship services, intense and relevant teachings and a culturally diverse membership.
Our purpose is to nurture, challenge, and encourge all believers to learn how to live holy, confident, and joy-filled Christian lives. We train and equip God's children through the teaching and preaching of the Gospel, to empower them through an intimate encounter with God's Holy Spirit. We inspire them by creating an atmosphere conducive to praise and worhsip, and motivate in their spirits a consuming passion for the Harvest.
We believe that every soul in this world has worth and value, and as such they are profitable to God's Kingdom building business. We want to instill in God's children a desire to boldly stand against the things that God's Word calls sin and evil. while at the same time creating in them an appetite to say and do those things that God calls righteous, pure and holy.
We challenge all believers to live in the utmost confidence that all God's promises are true, and that "through God" all things are possible to those who truly believe and live their lives in accordance to God's Word.
IN PRINT NOW! 
While America finds herself embroiled in a global conflict against Islamic Fascism, she is also engulfed in another war; it is a culture war for the very heart and soul of this nation. Only this war cannot be won with smart bombs or hell-fire missiles. Victory in this battle hinges upon America returning to the Judeo-Christian values that our Founding Fathers used as the bedrock upon which they birthed this great Republic.
Pastor Ken Jones
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