RCCG: Place of His Presence

Changing Your Condition

Text: I Samuel 1

Introduction

Most of the situations we find ourselves in are situations that ought not to be. Some believers are so plain in their understanding of the dynamics of their positions that they accept life as it is; thinking we can not do anything to change it; that the power to change it is not in our hands. Or, they simply relax and say “God’s will be done” (the typical Nigerian would say “God dey”). Of course, God’s will will be done. His will is not for us to be below; it is not for us to be lukewarm; it is not for us to be powerless; it is not for us to be unstable. Rather God wants us to exercise authority over our situations and surroundings. He wants us to be on top of things; He wants us to dominate not dominated by situations. He wants us to overwhelm, not for things to overwhelm us. Gen. 1:26 and 3 John 2 tells us something about the level where God expects us to operate.

How Hannah Changed How Condition

Hannah took certain steps to change her condition.

Take responsibility

Hannah took charge of her situation. She did not sit there and wait for people to come and sympathize with her, or comfort her. She did not console herself or make herself comfortable in that situation. She did not blame anyone for her situation –not even herself. What is the use of laying blames? Instead, she took the responsibility upon herself to find solution to her problem. It is solution that resolves a problem, not placing blames that resolves it. Who sinned that Hannah was punished? Sometimes, we look for faults where there are none. Who sinned when Job suffered catastrophic losses? In all likelihood, Hannah would have questioned and examined herself, asking “what is my sin; how have I deserved this? I have not seen a place in the Bible where it was recorded that Hannah or her parents sinned, and that is why her womb was shut. Some things happen in life so that God can be glorified -John 9:1 – 3. Rather than looking for whom to blame, in certain situations, why not take the responsibility to look for the solution?

Discerning spirit

In all fairness, it is not often easy to determine whether or not the problem is a result of a fault or sin in us. There are times when we may need to examine ourselves when a problem arises. What will help us is the gift of discerning spirits 1 Cor. 12:7. You know, the first step to solving a problem is to discover there is a problem. We need the spirit of discernment. This gift will help to distinguish the real problem from the appearances of the problem in order to effectively target our resources at resolving the problem. For example, we see sometimes that people do not regard our opinions or consult with us when doing some things. That is only the appearance or manifestation of a problem of poverty or lack of knowledge. When you deal with the real problem, which is that you are poor or lack the relevant knowledge, you will see how attentive they will become to your opinions, and how highly they will regard it. You must leave the shadow and deal with the substance.

As we see in verses 6 to 8, Hannah’s problems had many shadows or manifestations such as embarrassment, ridicule, a grieving spirit, a provoked mind, a sorrowful heart. But when she arose to deal with the problem and change her condition, she did not go to a psychologist to deal with her depression. She went straight to the substance, the root, of the problem. Because, once you deal with a horrible sore, the stench and flies will disappear too. This is because the sore was emitting the smell, which in turn was attracting the flies and repelling people from you –sometimes, driving away your blessings.  Ignorance indeed, is a disease. In Mark 5: 25 – 29, we see the difference substance and shadows in the experience of the woman with the issue of blood. God will give us the spirit of discernment that we may not labour in vain by attacking shadows, while the real problem persists.

Decide To Change Your Condition

It is one thing to know there is a problem, and another thing to take action to change it. In John 5: 1 – 7, we see a man who had been in the same condition for thirty-eight years. Did he not know he was crippled?

Of course he did, that is why he gathered with other disabled people. He made no effort to change his condition, but was full of excuses and blaming others –no one to put me in the pool; others will enter before I get there. Some times, you have to ask yourself, like Jesus asked the cripple in verse 6; do you want to change your condition?

Apart from discerning the problem, you must be willing to change it. Some believers are so complacent about their situation they even laugh at themselves and say “…oh, the story of my life”. You made it the story of your life, not God. When you decide to change it, like the woman in Mark 5 and Hannah, God will show up to do His part. That is why He gave us free will. In life, we live with the choices we make. Hannah choose to remove the tag ‘barren’ from her name. Some may be comfortable with being called barren Hannah, blind Barthemeus (Mark 10:46) or that “brother that comes late”, and so on. But, Hannah refused to accept that tag, she decided to change it. That was her decision.

Turn to Him that has power to change your Condition

When we do decide to change our condition, we should know where to turn for the proper solution. If we beat round the bush, as believers, or go round in circles or turn to the wrong places, we will b wasting our time and probably turning our blessing stale. Psalm 1:1a says the man who turneth not to the counsel of the ungodly is a blessed man. It is not in all places that we will find blessings or solutions. We saw the woman in Mark 5: 25 – 26 (read, please) she wasted twelve years, so much substance and money, but grew “worse” in her condition.

In verse 10 of our text, we see that Hannah knew who had power to change her condition. And, it was to that person, God that she turned when she decided to change her condition. Many of us search in the wrong places for answers which are not there.

Hannah did not turn to her husband, her pastor or powerless gods. She went to the Almighty God and made a contract with Him! (verse 11).

See also, Genesis 28:20 where Jacob made a vow to God.

What is a simple contract? – an agreement between two parties in which benefits flow in both directions.

How many of us have contracts with God?

But how many know the song “covenant-keeping God, there is no one like you…? Psalms 89: 34a “My covenant will I not break…”

We know He keeps to His agreements, yet we do not go into agreements with Him.

But we know how to complain about stuffs in our lives, when we can actually cause them to change.

Also, remember that contracts are meant to be performed.

So, be very careful about it. Hannah faithfully redeemed her vow to God. At the end, she was a stronger and satisfied woman.

Conclusion

We should not live below where we are meant to live –on top. Problems should be trials to make us stronger at the end of the whole experience. That is what problems are. But, they will become a permanent condition for us when we do not know how to react to them appropriately. See James 1: 1 – 12. Hannah’s problem made her stronger and satisfied, after she dealt with it appropriately. It is when we make the right decisions, that God is glorified in our lives. Imagine, the man in John 9:3. If he had not been healed, would God have been glorified? Our indecisions also affect God. We deprive Him of His glory and deprive ourselves of blessings when we are undecided or make wrong decisions.

-Pst Steve