"When our cup is jostled, what spills out reveals what is inside" Dee Brestin from her study of proverbs...
to illustrate we read in 1 Samuel ~
Penninah and Hannah, married to the same man - that would certainly jostle MY cup! Penninah had children, Hannah could not - ouch, but their 'shared' husband loved Hannah more - serious jostle!!
What spilled from Penninah was jealousy, bitterness and cruelty towards Hannah, provoking her ruthlessly -and it hurt. Penninah sought her own methods of coping, indulging in a fleshly response to her pain...
Hannah's cup overflowed with her faith in God, she took her grief to Him, she indulged in His presence and tirelessly trusted Him...
Penninah increased her pain and suffering ~ Hannah was healed
Although greatly simplified here, what a great reminder of yet another way to measure our progress, to test our hearts - when my cup is jostled, what spills out?
I have so much to learn from Hannah! Thank you for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteSo i'd say it's possible that when we are truely focusing on God, we will be more like Hannah, and when not??? well, there's a little Penniniah waiting to come out... We need to guard out hearts.
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