Feb
5
Written by:
Route 365
2/5/2010 5:00 AM
by Jason Knapp
Biography
Hi, my name is Jason Knapp. My wife, Amanda, and I have been attending Browncroft since 2000, and I’ve been involved with leading Community Groups since we came here. We have two children, Emma (8) and Owen (2).
Reflection
Hope. It’s a small word with great significance. It’s what differentiates believers from non-believers, those who see this life as just the beginning, and those who see this life as the end. Hannah had hope and didn’t let it wane through the disappointment of not having children herself and of watching Peninnah have children in abundance. Do you keep hope alive in your heart, or does disappointment rule there?
My wife and I had to battle through a few years of hard hoping. We started trying for a second child when our daughter turned three. We’d had no trouble conceiving her and expected the same with our second. It took about a year before we started wondering if something was wrong. After about another year of tests that showed nothing, we started worrying that God had a different plan for us. Would this be it for our family? Would Amanda not get to feel the joy of being pregnant again? During the third year, we really struggled with God, because we both felt a call to have another child. In the midst of this struggle, I started to get sick. At first the illness was relatively mild, but as it became persistent, we started to get worried, and all sorts of tests followed. Cancer was high on the list of diagnoses the doctors were considering. Finally, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and started treatment. Suddenly, my health got better, and before long, Amanda was pregnant.
What would that health scare have been like if we had already had an infant? What would that added stress have done to our family? I don’t know, and I’m glad I didn’t have to find out. God had a plan. It wasn’t my plan, and I didn’t understand it…but it was better than what I had planned. Would Hannah have given her son to the Lord if she’d conceived right away, or would she have kept him for herself? Would she have conceived at all if she hadn’t had the faith and hope to continue to pray for years? Are you missing the work God is doing in your life because He’s not following your plan? Is there something you need to continue to hope for, trusting that God has a better plan in mind?
A fellow traveler,
Jason
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1 comment(s) so far...
Re: 1 Samuel 1.1.1-20
The words in this scripture that say Hannah was "pouring out her soul to God" inspire and challenge me. Prayer is an intimate conversation with the creator of the universe - and I am awed by what a privilege it is that we have such access to the King of Kings. Just as Blake said so eloquently in his message yesterday, God works amazingly when we come before Him in such a vulnerable and humble attitude - aware that we are helpless on our own and desperate for Him to do a work in our lives. This is the prayer life that I strive for in my own life.
By Ann Lincoln on
2/15/2010 10:00 AM
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