WOMEN of CHARACTER: Manoah’s Wife: Trusting God………from Judges 13 Simply allowing her to become pregnant would have been answer enough. But sending an angel with the news—wow! She didn’t know all that would eventually happen to her little boy Samson, but she had a strong suspicion God had something very big in mind. First, a Quick Read: A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son….” Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me….He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son.’ “Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field…The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!...” “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” But his wife answered, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.” Judges 13: 2-3, 6a, 7a, 8-9a, 10, 22-23 When You Think about It: Dear friend, I tell you the Lord is in your heart. Since the day of your conversion He has been dwelling there. During all that time, every moment might have been passed in the sunshine of His sweet presence and every step taken under His advice. But because you did not know it and did not look for Him there, your life has been lonely and full of failure. But now that I make you aware of this, how are you going to receive it? Are you glad to have Him? Will you throw every door wide open to welcome Him in? Will you joyfully and thankfully give up your life to Him? Will you consult Him about everything and let Him decide each step and mark out every path? Will you invite Him into your innermost chambers and share your most hidden life with Him? Will you say “Yes” to His longing for union with you? Will you, with a glad and eager surrender, hand yourself and all that concerns you over into His hands? If you will do this, your soul will begin to know something of the joy of union with Christ.—Hannah Whitall Smith Faith is that which, knowing the Lord’s will, goes and does it; or not knowing it, stands and waits. –George MacDonald LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: The two strilkingly different reactions to God’s presence by Manoah and his wife suggest that their marriage was like many we’ve seen –a woman walking in close fellowship with the Lord, her husband following at a distance. Manoah’s wild-eyed panic that they had unwittingly done something to deserve death shows how thin the disguise of self-reliance really is. See his wife, though, grasping his hands to settle him down, forcing him to look into her face. You don’t know Him like I do. Trust me, He’s a good God. CHARACTER CHECK: How you will react in the difficult times, in the challenging seasons of life, depends on how well you’ve gotten nice and quiet—in the ordinary everyday. Goodnight......fb
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 01:20:28 +0000
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