Friendship - Edition #4

Sunday, February 12th, 2006

Friendship – Edition #4

An engineer dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, “Ah, you're an engineer — you're in the wrong place.” So the engineer reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the engineer gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After a while, they've got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and the engineer is becoming a pretty popular guy. One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and asks with a sneer, “So, how's it going down there in hell?” Satan replies, “Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators, and there's no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.” God replies, “What??? You've got an engineer? That's a mistake — he should never have gotten down there; send him up here.” Satan says, “No way! I like having an engineer on the staff, and I'm keeping him.” God says, “Send him back up here or I'll sue.” Satan laughs uproariously and answers, “Yeah right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?”

Today, my son is 9 months old… Valentine’s Day is Tuesday, my wife and I have a date set for tomorrow to celebrate, life is good. I feel the warmth of friendship, in my relationship with my wife, with my friends, and with my family. It’s what I have been praying for of late… Ah, the power of cheese… I mean prayer. It’s a wonderful thing. You know, three men came to a river. They had no idea how to cross it, so one man knelt down on his knees and prayed, “Lord give me the power and strength the cross the river.” Suddenly the man became very strong and swam across the river. The next man thought: if it worked for him, it'll work for me. So he knelt down and prayed, “Lord give the skills and the strength to cross the river.” The man built a canoe and rowed himself across the river. The last man thought: if it worked for both of them, I know it'll work for me. So he also knelt down and prayed, “Lord give me the wisdom and knowledge to cross the river.” He turned into a woman and walked across the bridge.

1st Samuel 1:1-20
1 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. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

3 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. 4 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. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 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. 8 Elkanah her husband 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?"

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple. 10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon 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."

12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

15 "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. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

I can only imagine just how much Hannah had prayed for her child. Day end and day out, she prayed earnestly for the child… she was willing to do whatever it took. And the competitiveness of the other wife, Peninnah, was never ending. Both men and women are extremely competitive in different ways. Men, it would seem is all about having the best stuff, doing the best in the workplace, getting the best promotion, and most importantly, being the best in whatever sport they find themselves involved with. Women, it seems to be having the best looking guy, having the best makeup, looking the prettiest, and having obedient children, thus making themselves the best spouse possible. That would just seem to be an observation, I could be wrong on all accounts, but being a generalization, I wouldn’t be wrong 100%. I wouldn’t be right 100% either… but that’s what generalizations are… generalized material. Hannah is amazing. Her faith is worthy of the “Hall of Faith” in my book. She prayed till she was starting, her face downcast, and in anguish. I think she took more than three trips to the garden to pray… she was even thought to be crazy for her dedication to prayer. And Peninnah wasn’t a friend, she kept jabbing her and mocking her for not being able to give to her husband the way she (Hannah) wanted to give to him. Even though Peninnah wasn’t a friend to Hannah, God was. And he gave to her a son. Hannah, in turn, returned the son to God as gratitude. Her faith was rewarded. In 1st Samuel 2:18-21 is says, “But Samuel was ministering before the LORD - a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, ‘May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD.’ Then they would go home. And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.” Hannah loved God, she was a friend to God, and her faith was so much that she withstood the bickering from Peninnah and God saw the perseverance and blessed her because of such. She suffered, which produced perseverance, and that developed her character, and with her sound character, she was given hope. And with her hope, she was not disappointed. Johnny Out.