NorMel House Devotions

  Read 1 Samuel 1 Do you long for a child? Do you find yourself on your knees time and again asking God to give you a child? Sometimes, this desire can be so strong it physically hurts. It can feel like a big, gaping hole in your chest, a hollow empty chasm that never heals over; although it may feel like it, I promise you, you’re not alone. So far, we’ve looked at the doubting Sarah and the volte-face doubting and trusting of Abraham. Today, however, I want to call your attention to Hannah, the wife of Elkanah in 1 Samuel 1. Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives, and right away in verse 2 we see there’s a problem because of this. “Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.” (1 Samuel 1:2). Year after year Elkanah took his family to Shiloh to worship and bring sacrifices to God. Although Peninnah gave him children, Elkanah favored Hannah. He gave her a double portion of meat because he loved her, and because “The LORD had closed her womb.” Now it’s no wonder Peninnah was jea...

Read Genesis 22:1-19 Have you ever prayed about something and left it with God, only to take it back again? I know I have. I often try to leave my worries and desires with God only to be worrying and wanting again soon after. Sometimes I wonder if Abraham struggled with this. So many times, the LORD told him about his offspring, and yet, he wasn't patient enough to wait for the Lord to give him a child; like his wife he tried to force God's hand. When faced with the most high God he basically told the LORD that He wasn't keeping His promise. In Genesis 15:2-3, "Abram said, 'O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?' And Abram said, 'You have given me no children; so, a servant in my household will be my heir'." Can you imagine being faced with our amazing and powerful God and showing such an arrogant and supercilious attitude? I cringe to think of it. And yet, des...

Read Genesis 16, and Genesis 18:1-15 The desire for children is something many struggle with. Some struggle to get pregnant, some struggle with the loss of pregnancies, and some struggle with the lack of control over having children. These are not new difficulties but have been the struggles of many women dating all the way back to Biblical times. While I personally never struggled with getting pregnant, I wrestled with the desire for and the loss of children. I know the constant anxiety of wondering if each month was the one I'd get pregnant in; many times, I cried out to God to let me have a child to hold and keep. Nine times I prayed that God would let each child live. Nine times I was denied, and my child was called to our heavenly home. The desire for children is something most people eventually feel at some point but most take for granted that it will all go as they expect. We simply don't think of all that can go wrong, until it does. You're not alone in your strugg...

  What do we do when everything seems to fall apart? Where do we turn when the world around us seems to be crumbling and we feel like we just can't take anymore? We often wonder how all these bad things can happen; why do they happen? There is a reason for all things, and the bible tells us that as Christians there is a definite purpose. As a result of our sin the world is no longer perfect, and bad things happen. But is that all? Is that the only purpose??? I don't believe so. One of the things the bible talks about is being refined. We are being refined by our trials, being molded into something better! Zechariah 13:9 "...and refine them as one refines silver and test them as gold is tested..." Isaiah 48:10 "Behold I have refined you, but not as silver' I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" Psalm 66: 10-12 "For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden up...

Life is full of waiting... Wait for the microwave, wait for the kettle, wait for the traffic light to turn green, wait for mealtimes, wait at the restaurant, wait in line at the store, waiting, waiting, waiting. Waiting can be boring, or frustrating or even stressful but there are some wait times that can be so much more difficult. Like waiting to find out if you have cancer...  or if the cancer is gone....  But today I particularly think of the waiting for motherhood. When we want children there are so many hard wait times. We wait to see if we get our period. More often than not we get it and the waiting starts all over for the next month. We may end up waiting to get in to see a specialist. Then you wait in the waiting room. Wait for test results, wait for that cycle to be at the right time and sometimes the waiting takes years. When we finally don't get that dreaded time of the month we end up waiting for that little line on a stick to show up (seriously a stressful 3-5 mi...

 My heart feels heavy when I see the pain of my #infertilitywarriors . When someone is struggling through a hard time I wish I had the right words of wisdom to help them through, but I don't. I only know that even in our darkest hours we are not alone. God is bigger than any hurt we feel; Jesus suffered more than anything we'll ever go through, and the Spirit groans on our behalf before the Father. When I feel like there's nothing left in me to give, like I've no idea or clue what my purpose is or why I continue to go through the trenches I hold on to one thing. Though this world is full of the devastating results of sin God has a plan, though we endure hardships God will turn all things to the good of those who love Him. (Read Romans 8, the Bible does promise this!) God doesn't promise us an easy life, but He gave us directions to a new one. He guides us and protects us in the journey towards that new life. "Yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow o...

Giving our children to God This morning we had a sermon which brought me to tears. A sermon about Abraham being told to sacrifice his one and only beloved son. He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." GEN 22:2 ESV Without hesitation Abraham packs up to do as he is asked. He is told to sacrifice his only beloved son; the son whom he prayed and longed for, whom he waited for years for, THIS son he is asked to give up to God. And he doesn't question or argue or even drag his feet, he trusts. He simply trusted God with his child. In my weakness, I cry for him. How does one just accept a request like that without hesitation? I know Abraham trusted God, and I often pray for that strength of faith and courage. During the sermon the minister brought up the comparison of God sending His only begotten Son to die for us and these two things ha...