MORNING MANNA 7-1-24
BETTER NOT BITTER
“And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore”. 1 Samuel 1:7-10
One of the first missionary books I read was the story of David Brainerd. It is a story that has challenged and inspired millions down through the years. Paul Chappell wrote the following:
Missionary David Brainerd had struggled with illness throughout his pioneering work among the American Indians. In 1746, at just twenty-eight years of age, he contracted tuberculosis and could no longer travel and preach. Jonathan Edwards took him into his home where Edwards’ seventeen-year-old daughter, Jerusha, served as his nurse through the last days of his life. Just four months after Brainerd’s death, Jerusha also died, have been infected with the same disease. Later Jonathan Edwards wrote, “All gracious affections that are a sweet odor to Christ, and that fill the soul of a Christian with a heavenly sweetness and fragrancy, are broken-hearted affections.”
The burdens that we carry in our hearts can be great, yet if we respond to them as we should, trusting in God to work, we often find those to be the source of some of our most meaningful spiritual experiences. The heart that becomes bitter will grow cold and turn away from God. But the heart that flees to faith will find that God is a source of help and hope. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8). God does not always work in the way we would prefer, but He always does what is right and what is best. Our burdens should drive us toward Him rather than away from Him. Deep burdens can be the source of our greatest spiritual growth and victories.
Thought: God uses our misery to mature us and as a means of ministry to others. HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, TX
