June 4, 2010
This chapter contains a verse I have marked as a promise of God. The story is about the birth of Samson.
Manoah and his wife couldn't have children. An angel appears to Manoah's wife and tells her she will have a son and what she should do. Manoah's wife tells him what the angel said. Manoah asked God for the man to come again and, "Teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us." The angel/man appears to Manoah's wife again. She runs to get Manoah, and Manoah says, "When what you say happens..." Manoah doesn't say IF it happens, he says when! Manoah doesn't say when he may be born, he says will be born. Now, Manoah and his wife had not been able to have children. The man/angel even confirmed this. The man/angel didn't say you haven't had children yet, he said you can't have children. He gave Manoah and his wife instructions for their part in this miracle.
There was no earthly reason for Manoah and his wife to believe what the man/angel said. But Manoah and his wife chose to believe. Their response was not IF. It was when and will.
Manoah asks the angel/man his name so he could be given honor. "When what you have said really happens." Again, saying when. The angel said, "Why ask my name?" As Manoah offers a sacrifice to the LORD, the angel ascends to heaven, and Manoah finally gets it. This is an angel of the LORD. His next response was, "We have seen God, so we will surely die." And then comes the verse I marked on 9/11/08. Manoah's wife said:
God miraculously* spoke to us through Jane. (Her Name Was Jane) Through Jane's lips, God promised us His protection, literally saying He would defend the needy in court (Psalm 140:12). He promised He would give us direction (Isaiah 30). We chose to believe His promises, but then time drags on and "the storm" continues to rage. A month passed... another month... a year... and then more years passed with no end in sight. Then on 9/11/08 I read (my paraphrase), "Look, if God wanted to kill us, if He wanted to take from us our home and business, He would not have accepted our submission of everything to Him, He would not have shown us all the things He has, and He would not have told us all He did through the most unlikeliest of sources. So—HOLD ON! God will do what He has promised to do. It is NOT if—it is WHEN! It is NOT maybe—it is HE WILL.
It's now been over a year and a half since 9/11/08. We will continue to believe and hold on. God's promise came true. Samson was born.
*I love the Dictionary.com definition of miraculous. 2) "Highly improbable and extraordinary and bringing very welcome consequences." A perfect description of what happened with Jane E. Wolfe.
Addendum: 12/16/13 ~ It has now been five years and three months since 9//11/08. Wow! :) Our faith has not diminished, it has grown. We will continue to believe and hold on.
4/18/18 ~ It has now been nine years and seven months since I first marked Judges 13:23 as a promise of God, and "the storm" continues. We continue to believe. God has a purpose and a plan. We will hold on and wait for HIS plan to be fulfilled.
This chapter contains a verse I have marked as a promise of God. The story is about the birth of Samson.
Manoah and his wife couldn't have children. An angel appears to Manoah's wife and tells her she will have a son and what she should do. Manoah's wife tells him what the angel said. Manoah asked God for the man to come again and, "Teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us." The angel/man appears to Manoah's wife again. She runs to get Manoah, and Manoah says, "When what you say happens..." Manoah doesn't say IF it happens, he says when! Manoah doesn't say when he may be born, he says will be born. Now, Manoah and his wife had not been able to have children. The man/angel even confirmed this. The man/angel didn't say you haven't had children yet, he said you can't have children. He gave Manoah and his wife instructions for their part in this miracle.
There was no earthly reason for Manoah and his wife to believe what the man/angel said. But Manoah and his wife chose to believe. Their response was not IF. It was when and will.
Manoah asks the angel/man his name so he could be given honor. "When what you have said really happens." Again, saying when. The angel said, "Why ask my name?" As Manoah offers a sacrifice to the LORD, the angel ascends to heaven, and Manoah finally gets it. This is an angel of the LORD. His next response was, "We have seen God, so we will surely die." And then comes the verse I marked on 9/11/08. Manoah's wife said:
"If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering or grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us all this."Later, just as the man/angel said, Manoah's wife gave birth to Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him.
God miraculously* spoke to us through Jane. (Her Name Was Jane) Through Jane's lips, God promised us His protection, literally saying He would defend the needy in court (Psalm 140:12). He promised He would give us direction (Isaiah 30). We chose to believe His promises, but then time drags on and "the storm" continues to rage. A month passed... another month... a year... and then more years passed with no end in sight. Then on 9/11/08 I read (my paraphrase), "Look, if God wanted to kill us, if He wanted to take from us our home and business, He would not have accepted our submission of everything to Him, He would not have shown us all the things He has, and He would not have told us all He did through the most unlikeliest of sources. So—HOLD ON! God will do what He has promised to do. It is NOT if—it is WHEN! It is NOT maybe—it is HE WILL.
It's now been over a year and a half since 9/11/08. We will continue to believe and hold on. God's promise came true. Samson was born.
*I love the Dictionary.com definition of miraculous. 2) "Highly improbable and extraordinary and bringing very welcome consequences." A perfect description of what happened with Jane E. Wolfe.
Addendum: 12/16/13 ~ It has now been five years and three months since 9//11/08. Wow! :) Our faith has not diminished, it has grown. We will continue to believe and hold on.
4/18/18 ~ It has now been nine years and seven months since I first marked Judges 13:23 as a promise of God, and "the storm" continues. We continue to believe. God has a purpose and a plan. We will hold on and wait for HIS plan to be fulfilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment