Prerequisite

“Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat” 1Sam.1:7

Samuel was a child that came from holding God’s hand and asking of the Lord. In fact Samuel is a product of help from heaven. Hannah had to endure the pain of not having children for several years. For some of us, it is not the pain of not having physical children but we are going through a painful situation that has lingered for years. For some people it is a drought of business ideas or of a promotion. For some people the pain they are experiencing is related to their health and yet for some it is the pain of not having children. But whatever the case may be, the common denominator is pain. Hannah knew pain, consistent pain. Science tells us pain is a pointer to the fact that something is wrong. As human beings one thing we shy away from is pain. We do not want to feel or experience pain in any form. And as a result some people have become addicted to painkillers in the bid to numb pain. Some of us have even become accustomed to taking the painkillers in anticipation of pain. But the reality is that some pains are necessary, necessary for growth, for development, and for breakthrough. The pain you are feeling in some cases is a prerequisite to the breakthrough you are believing God for. Ask a pregnant woman, the pain she feels increases steadily until there is a breakthrough. The pain is a prerequisite to breakthrough.

Increasingly, the society is making a lot of effort to numb pain and as such fueling the addiction to painkillers. In the United States for instance, as at 2010 statistics show that eighteen women a day die of an overdose of painkillers. Women are most susceptible to this addiction because they tend to take painkillers not only to numb physical pain but depression, emotional pain, sadness, and the feeling of being abandoned. You might be thinking that this only applies to the women in the United States. But the least we can do for ourselves is not allow it creep into our society. Increasingly also, parents are doing everything within their power to shield their children from pain. Strangely, parents now think their responsibility is to shield their children from pain. Think about it, did you become who you became because you were shielded from pain? You are who you are because you learnt how to prevail over pain. Am I saying you should start inflicting pain on your children unnecessarily? Absolutely not but there is danger in parents over protecting their children.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace not to shield myself or my loved ones from the necessary pain and the grace to rise above pain, in Jesus Name.