NO MAN CAN PREVAIL BY HIS OWN STRENGTH.

1 Samuel 2:9-10. ESV.

9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

\”He guards the steps of His faithful ones but the wicked are silenced in darkness for a man does not prevail by his own strength\”

We are frail on our own for power is not the key instrument for success. It is not by our strength that we can bring ourselves to a place of victory; it is by the Lord\’s doings. If you had followed the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel 1, we will understand her predicament and her trivials and how she suffered serial abuse from her husband\’s first wife. Yet it did not reduced her husband\’s preferencial treatment and love to her. Nevertheless, the Lord will keep the feet of His servant grounded, it can not be moved.

\”But Elkanah always gave a special share of the meat to Hannah, because he loved Hannah and because the Lord had kept her from having children. 6 Peninnah would tease Hannah and upset her, because the Lord had made her unable to have children. 7 This happened every year when they went up to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah until Hannah would cry and not eat anything. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why won’t you eat? Why are you sad? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:5-8) NCVB.

There are atimes what you think is enough for survival is a mere Pot of porridge which does not worth giving up on your birth right. Hannah knew what it takes to overcome a daunting self conceited Peninah TRUST IN GOD and RUGGED FAITH IN THE LORD for change of story matters more to her

IN HIM WE MOVE AND LIVE AND HAVE OUR BEARING.

Hannah was despised and mocked by her own family member, She was misunderstood, called names and was wrongly accused by the same authority that would have defended her.

12 While Hannah kept praying, Eli watched her mouth. 13 She was praying in her heart so her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “Stop getting drunk! Throw away your wine!”

15 Hannah answered, “No, sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am a deeply troubled woman, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. 16 Don’t think I am an evil woman. I have been praying because I have many troubles and am very sad.” (1 Samuel 1:12-16). NKJV

Is your story like that of Hannah or have you find yourself in such a terrible situation and you think your solution lies in man? This is what the LORD says: \”Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives\”. Jeremiah 17 :5.

Just hang in there, it\’s not your fault that things penned up this way rather it\’s your time for change of story. This is no time to give up rather the time to begin a new chapter with the Lord not man, afterall is Christ in you that\’s the hope of glory.

Do you know that is not every affliction comes from the enemy, you must be spiritually alert to identify what exactly you are dealing with so that you will have the wisdom to know how to handle it. The provocation of your adversary may not be the root cause of your predicament rather it may be the crucible that may bring out the silver lining in you and fire you to fineness.

\”And her adversary also provoked her sore for to make her fret because the Lord had shut up her Womb\”. (1Samuel 1:6) KJV.

Hannah was sensitive enough not to allow her detractors to get her out of track because their abuses to her were a mere child\’s play to take her focus away from facing her challenges squarely with God in Whose hands lies both Victory and Defeat.

\”But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a river bank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

How do we then practically align ourselves with God in the battle of life. 2Corinthians 10:3-4 \”For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One\”) AMP.

Hannah went all out believing the solution to her problems lies with God but she was the vehicle to convey the means of moving this vehicle by praying fervently. \”For the effectual fervent prayer of the Righteous man makes tremendous power available. James 5:16.

Never you stop as long as God has not stop you and as long as there\’s life in you, you must continue to develop SELF for productivity is progressive. You can not stop yourself because that\’s the antics of the enemy to see you diminish or stop you from being productive. The devil want you to make the mistake of depending on yourself help so that he will make you feel that is your strength or by your power you were able to make it not remembering that Is not by your power, not by your strength but by the Spirit of God
Keep it in your mind also that it is not by favours or by the works of your hands that you accomplish success. The writer Solomon stressed in ecclesiastes

\”I have observed something else under the sun; the fastest runner doesn\’t always win the race and the strongest warrior doesn\’t always win the battles , the wise sometimes go hungary and the skilful are not necessarily wealthy and those who are educated don\’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in right place at the right time\” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) NLT.

So then [God’s gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. [It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God having mercy on him.] (Romans 9:16) AMP.

Promotion they say does not necessarily go to those who are worthy. Advancement we hear does not necessarily come to those that work the hardest. Natural abilities or talents are not enough for a success of life. We often hear that skills and intelligence do not necessarily leads to progress. By strength shall no man prevail. All these sayings commits our minds into putting in our very best efforts but directing all those efforts into God\’s hands for Increase and Blessings.

All power belongs to God, therefore acknowledge Him and He will direct your path in Jesus name 🙏

✍️Mrs Blessing I N Onugha ❤️