Touching the Untouchable
Keeping' the Main Thing the Main Thing
In Luke 10:38-42, we see where Martha (Mary's oldest sister) welcomes Jesus into her home only to become preoccupied ("distracted with much serving") with impressing her guests; unlike Mary who "sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word." Much like Martha, Hannah allowed her self-perception to hinder further development of her character. You see, God always reveals our need for surrender through adverse or series of adverse circumstances (detours); whether created or allowed by Him.
In Martha's case was it really about "much serving" or being validated for serving? For Hannah, was it really about Peninnah's vinegar drenched words or the indefinite appearance of an unfulfilled desire? You see, we each has the propensity to misinterpret a self-inflicted detour for a God-assigned detour, especially when the desires flesh-fed and not spirit-led! In essence, we're no different from Martha, Hannah, and even Peninnah in that we've all longed for something or someone which resembles the perplexities of our heart's desires. We all have endured the shame and disappointment of their ill-fated manifestations. Yet, when we lack an understanding of its purpose the detours' inevitably prolonged, whereby making us prime candidates for potentially calamitous encounters.
Perhaps Hannah's deluge of emotions were in direct correlation with the treasures of her heart (Matthew 6:21) and not God’s timing? Oftentimes, we're unable to properly flourish in our seasons of transformation -- wallowing in destinations ill-equipped to infuse the necessary power to return us to our God-assigned courses. Is it due to a lack of understanding a detour? Contrary to our beliefs, tests (detours) reveal the inner-workings and vitality of our self-will to us, not God. You see, it's not enough to be in sync with our God-assigned destiny and not our God-assigned detours. For God-assigned detours have great purpose and yield great power when properly endured.
A Spiritually Severed Scar
Like Hannah, many of us become disoriented when confronted with unsurrendered trust issues. Unlike surface living, severed scar tissue provokes us to identify, confront and dismantle truths lying dormant beneath the surface about ourselves. Christine Caine, President and CEO of A21 Campaign, one of the largest anti-human trafficking organizations in the world says '"You have to deal with your past to move into your future. Don't settle for deliverance when you can be free. If you're going to lay hold of the future God has for you, you have to pay a price. Most of us don't embrace the pain of emotional or spiritual recovery because there is pain. We have to undergo a process of restoration to have the wounds of our soul healed, and to allow Jesus to touch those dark places."' Yes! Hannah was verbally abused - tormented because of jealousy, however, before Hannah could conceive a son, she needed to relinquish the inner critic of its power, so God could restore functionality of heart and correct any disfigurement resulting from injurious words. In other words, destiny requires that we arrive Healed Without Scars; detached from the aftermath of the pain. Remember, until you release the inner critic "you cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself."
