Spiritual Barrenness That Leads to Spiritual Fruitfulness: Hannah’S Journey from Barrenness to Blessing

By E. Truman Herring

What is the secret to fruitfulness? Jesus made it clear that He is the Vine and we as branches can only experience fruitfulness through abiding in Christ. This book will help you understand, as Hannah did, that Gods path to spiritual fruitfulness is preceded by discovering our own spiritual barrenness and weakness. Come walk with Hannah through eight test of faith that many believers grow through in their journey to true spiritual fruitfulness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449772284

E. Truman Herring

The wise, the mighty, and the noble, are those that the world calls to leadership. Yet it is more often the foolish, the weak, and the base that God calls. Moses told God that he had chosen the wrong man. Gideon and Jeremiah felt the same way. The leaders of Israel marveled that Jesus’ apostles were ignorant and unlearned men. When I sensed that God was calling me to be a preacher, as a poor speaker, I felt weak and unqualified for that calling. I would later learn that I was weak, but still not weak enough to be used by God. After experiencing dependency upon God and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, I have seen the transforming power of the Word of God upon people’s lives for the last forty-two years of ministry. What I discovered about preaching, I have discovered about writing. I am not a gifted, skilled, or trained writer, but God has given me a transforming message from His Word. It is the Word of God and its application that builds faith, produces fruit, and conforms us to the ultimate purpose of God – the image of Christ. While the world looks for great people that stand head and shoulders above their peers, “God’s eyes run to and fro throughout the entire earth to find a heart that is yielded to God.” We can impact the world. We have an amazing God who chooses the barren to bring forth fruitfulness. When you discover God’s secret of the barren womb, you will discover true fruitfulness just as Hannah did. Pastor Truman Herring and his wife, Connie, have been married for forty-five years and have been blessed with three children and four grandchildren. He has been in ministry for forty-two years and is in his twenty-third year as senior pastor of Boca Glades Baptist Church of Boca Raton, Florida. He has taught several of his book series in India, Africa, Brazil, and Colombia, where he is active in missions. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Timothy Initiative (TTI) and Across Borders Ministries.

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Copyright © 2011, 2012 by E. Truman Herring

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Scripture quotations are from: The New King James Version

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-7229-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-7228-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012919819

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/30/2012

Contents

Dedication

Preface

1. Hannah: A Woman After God’s Own Heart

2. The Path to Fruitfulness

3. How We See Life Affects How We Live Life

4. Barren

5. Benefited – Part 1

6. Benefited – Part 2

7. Battered

8. Burdened – Part 1

9. Burdened – Part 2

10. Brokenness – Part 1

11. Brokenness – Part 2

12. Brokenness – Part 3

13. Blessed – Part 1

14. Blessed – Part 2

15. Believing – Part 1

16. Believing – Part 2

17. Bettered

18. Conclusion

Appendix 1

Endnotes

Dedication

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This book is dedicated to:

My godly mother who, like Hannah, gave me to the Lord from her womb.

And to my wife Connie who, like Hannah, was barren but God made her fruitful.

Preface

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34566.jpg THE BURDEN OF THE MESSAGE: THE BLESSING OF BARRENNESS

God has blessed each of us with incredible memories. Every parent can tell you the details of the birth of their children. The date, weight, size, shape, and emotions are all permanently embedded in our minds. We can all remember significant events – both good and bad – that have happened to us.

I vividly remember the details surrounding my conversion. Gripping the pew of the third row of my church in April, 1956, the conviction and illumination of the Holy Spirit brought me to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as I cried out, "Lord, save me!" I let go of the pew and took my first step of faith. That date is marked in my mind.

Twenty-nine years later, after serving as a senior pastor for twelve years, I agreed to join the staff of a church in Laurel, Mississippi. I committed to staying there for at least a year before seeking another pastoral position. I missed preaching on a regular basis, but no churches contacted me during that time about becoming their pastor.

In December 1985, I was studying my Bible over breakfast at Shoney’s restaurant in Laurel. I was confused and did not understand why God had not opened the door to serve at another church. As I read in 1 Samuel 1 and 2 about Hannah’s barrenness, her broken heart and her prayers, I began to identify with her. I read of how God opened her barren womb, and I identified with her faith and rejoicing.

At the same time, I overheard two local pastors in a nearby booth discussing the good news that one of the pastors had been called to a new church. His answered prayer only made me feel worse, that for some reason God had not answered my prayers.

I longed to experience spiritual strength, to be fruitful and to be fulfilled in the ministry – a fulfillment that came not from human recognition, but from divine blessing.

As I read the phrase in 1 Samuel 1:5 But the Lord had shut up her womb, I had one of those moments when the Scripture seemed to reach out and grab me. I knew this passage would have significant personal application to my own life. In that moment, I was deeply impressed that God was saying that no church has contacted me because He had "shut up my womb. It was like God had closed the door and I could not open it, no matter how hard I tried. However, with the understanding that God was the One who had closed the door, I came to a point of submission: Lord, I will surrender to Your will and am willing to stay in a staff position as long as you desire." I reminded myself of a lesson that I had already learned, that my contentment was in the Lord first – and not in the ministry.

As I continued to read of the trial and prayer of Hannah as she struggled with her infertility, God seemed to impress me even stronger that, as He had opened the barren womb of Hannah, He had just answered my prayers, and had given me a new church to pastor. I was filled with such faith and assurance of this that I immediately closed my Bible and hurried home to tell my wife the good news. I rushed into the house to tell Connie, "God has just given us a church to pastor!"

She wanted to know if a church had contacted me and how I knew. I said, "No! But I know God has just answered our prayer." I shared my encounter with God as I read how God had shut up Hannah’s barren womb and then later how God supernaturally opened her womb. This was not just my emotions trying to make me think positively. This was not some name-it-and-claim-it blind leap of faith based upon my personal desires and bias. This was a moment when God had used the Scripture to make a personal application to my conversation with God that morning.

In about three hours God would confirm that He was the God who both "shuts the womb and opens the womb." The chairman of the Pastor Search Committee of a church in Gulfport, Mississippi called me that afternoon. He began by saying they had been looking very hard for a pastor for nearly two years and had not found the right man. He told me that a lady in their church had a relative who lived in Laurel and had given them my name. Ken told me that, since it was the Christmas holidays, they had not planned on driving up to hear another preacher on Sunday. But, if I was preaching this Sunday, they were willing to drive up, hear me speak, and have lunch with my family. In God’s providence, I was scheduled to preach that Sunday morning. Ken agreed that the committee would be there to hear me preach and that they wanted to meet my family and discuss their need of a new pastor.

While we talked on the phone that day, I already knew in my heart something that Ken did not know yet – that I would be his new pastor. I had a peace that did indeed pass all understanding. That Sunday I preached the message God had given me in the restaurant on The Blessing of Barrenness. Three weeks later, my family and I moved to Gulfport to pastor that church. God had kept the door closed until the timing was right for me to become their new pastor.

That message, born in my heart out of a burden in 1985, became the basis for this book. Since that time, I have had the privilege of sharing the principles of this message in nations where hearts were open to God. I’ve seen people move from spiritual weakness to strength, from spiritual unfruitfulness to fruitfulness, and from disappointment and a lack of fulfillment to a deep sense of divine fulfillment in their lives.

Perhaps you are in a season of waiting on God. You’re trusting Him and you’ve poured out your heart to Him. And you are struggling as you wait for His answer. Be strong! Be faithful! God is at work! The rewards are worth it: strength, fruitfulness and fulfillment. Join me as we search God’s Word and move from barrenness to blessing.

CHAPTER 1

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Hannah: A Woman After God’s Own Heart

34569.jpg THE BACK-STORY OF HANNAH’S LIFE

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one long book in the Hebrew Bible. Tradition tells us that the author was Samuel himself, the prophet God used to shape and establish the kingship in Israel. However, because his death is mentioned in 1 Samuel 25, he could not have written all the content of these books.

Though we are really not sure who wrote 1 and 2 Samuel, we know they are of divine origin, inspired and blessed by God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.¹

The book of 1 Samuel starts out, not with Samuel, but with his parents, a couple by the name of Elkanah and Hannah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. Their relationship was complicated by two factors: Hannah’s inability to conceive children, and the presence of a second wife, Peninnah. The question of polygamy comes up often in studying the Old Testament. Polygamy was never God’s intention. The LORD said in Genesis 2:24 that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. God’s design was always for one man and one woman to be joined together in marriage: the two (not the three) shall become one flesh. It is likely that Elkanah married Peninnah because of Hannah’s barrenness, so that she might provide him children. Polygamy, though tolerated by God, was never part of His design.

It was this very issue of barrenness that became the point of tension between Hannah and Elkanah – and between Hannah and Peninnah.

Hannah, whose name means "grace, was Elkanah’s first wife. He loved her greatly, even though she was unable to bear any children. Imagine the shame and guilt she must have felt. She was a failure at her major responsibility as a wife. To make matters worse, Elkanah found someone else, Peninnah, whose name meant ruby," who could give him children. Perhaps this red-head was outwardly even more attractive than Hannah. But certainly she was better at one thing: bearing children.

The biblical record doesn’t tell us how many children she bore, but it is plural in number. So for several years Hannah lived under the same roof as this second wife and her children. And as women are prone to do, I’m certain that Peninnah reminded Hannah all the time of her infertility. In fact, verse six tell us, And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable.

Did you catch that? Provoked … severely … to make her miserable. Hannah didn’t ask for this. She didn’t even deserve it, because the problem wasn’t hers. Verse six ends with the phrase, because the Lord had closed her womb.

How could a loving God do such a thing? It was because He had a greater plan and purpose. Even a taunting Peninnah would not thwart God’s purpose. Hannah trusted God. She prayed. And God responded.

Hannah eventually did conceive and bear a son, naming him Samuel, which means "name of God. However, the Hebrew pronunciation sounds very similar to the words heard by God." God had heard Hannah’s prayer. She gave Him the glory and herself a reminder by the name she gave to her first-born.

34571.jpg HANNAH’S TESTS OF FAITH AND GOD’S SUPERNATURAL WAY OF BLESSING HER

God is very interested in building the faith of His children. One of His consistent patterns in Scripture seems to be to reveal Himself and then make a promise that must be believed. Once that promise is believed, the answer comes in God’s time and God’s way. In the process, our faith is often tested to make it stronger and to bring greater glory to God.

This pattern is seen in the life of Abraham. God revealed Himself and gave an unconditional promise to be believed: God would bless Abraham and he would have many descendants. We are told in Romans 4:3 that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. As one who was justified by faith alone, Abraham would continue to show his faith by his obedience in trusting God for the fulfillment of that promise (even into his 90s).

One of the promises that God gave Abraham was to go to the Promised Land. There, God would bless him and make him fruitful (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham believed God and entered the land – but he was immediately met with a severe test: there was a famine in the land (Genesis 12:10). The natural responses of fear, self-preservation, and the temptation to rely on human wisdom loomed large. Abraham gave in to those temptations and headed toward Egypt where there was food. He was walking by sight and not by faith in God’s promise. God soon corrected Abraham for his lack of faith and sent him back to the Land of Promise (Genesis 12:14-20; 13:1-4).

We will see this pattern of God testing and strengthening the faith of His children in the life of Hannah.

THE GREATER PURPOSES OF GOD

Before Hannah’s birth and the supernatural birth of Samuel, God foresaw the coming corruption of His Tabernacle through the house of Eli and his wicked sons. God put His plan in motion long before the "lamp of the Lord went out in the Tabernacle." It was God who purposed all things in Christ to raise up for Israel a godly deliverer who would do His will. That deliverer and prophet would be Samuel. Samuel, like Joseph, David, and so many others in the Old Testament, gives us a foreshadowing of Israel’s true deliver and the Promised Seed of Abraham in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus when we read the Lord had shut up her womb, we have to understand that the Master Weaver was weaving the circumstances of Hannah’s life into His greater tapestry that magnifies His grace to sinners and His purpose in Christ.

My approach in this study is to find spiritual lessons in Hannah’s barrenness and subsequent fruitfulness that parallel God’s work in our lives. He brings us to the acknowledgement that we too, like Hannah, are unable to bear lasting, spiritual fruit apart from Jesus Christ.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

I would like you to put this book down and to pick up your Bible and read Hannah’s story for yourself. You will find it in 1 Samuel chapter 1, verses 1 - 28, and chapter 2, verses 1-11.

Read these verses thoughtfully, perhaps out loud, taking the time to feel the impact of this story. Take a pen and underline or circle anything in the story that stands out to you.

After reading these thirty-nine verses, take a pen and write down answers to these questions:

• What stood out to you in this story? What did you notice that perhaps you had never seen before?

• In what ways was Hannah weak? In what ways did she become strong?

• In what ways was Hannah fruitless? How did she become fruitful?

• In what ways was Hannah unfulfilled? How did she become fulfilled?

• What emotions did Hannah experience? In what ways did she struggle?

• What promises did God make to Hannah? In what ways did He meet the needs of her heart?

CHAPTER 2

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The Path to Fruitfulness

We all long for spiritual strength, for fruitfulness and for a greater sense of fulfillment. But these qualities do not come naturally. They only come supernaturally.

We will journey together with Hannah through her tests of faith until she ultimately holds little Samuel in her arms. We will better understand Hannah by looking at her life from the perspective of God’s purpose long before her birth. And by looking back at the circumstances of her life and her prayer of praise that magnifies the grace of God in dealing with her. We will see the workings of a Sovereign God who does all things well to bring us to strength, fruitfulness and fulfillment. To try to interpret the historical events of Hannah’s life in 1 Samuel 1 without the eternal principles of her prayer of praise in 1 Samuel 2 is to miss many of the secrets of true fruitfulness that apply to our lives today.

The actual historical events around Hannah’s life are not accidental, but are the very backdrop for us to compare and contrast the way of the flesh to the way of the Spirit; the law of works and grace, and the continual battle between Satan and our victory in Christ.

In this study, we will see the historical events of Hannah’s story as eight tests of faith that believers of all ages pass through in their journey to true spiritual fruitfulness. Although not everyone passes through all of these tests, every believer does have to come to understand that God deals with us from the perspective of what Hannah learned through her test of faith and expressed in her prayer of praise, for by strength shall no man prevail (1 Samuel 2:9).

1. BARREN

The first test of faith that Hannah faced was how she would respond to God with her need.

But the LORD had shut up her womb (1Samuel 1:5). Hannah had four reasons to hope in God that He would open her barren womb:

• The Purpose of the Womb. God’s purpose is birth and life, and not death.

• The Promise of the Word. Hannah was convinced that God did not want her to remain barren and unfruitful.

• The Power of Biblical Examples. Without God opening the barren womb of Sarah there is not Isaac and therefore no Hannah.

• The Persistent Burden. When it is God who "shuts the womb," then only God can open the womb. God had given Hannah a persistent burden that He placed in her heart – and He alone would fill that burden.

2. BENEFITED

The second test of Hannah’s faith was to not accept a substitute but wait for God’s best. Elkanah tried to satisfy Hannah by giving her a double portion (1 Samuel 1:5). Yet even his gifts of love were not enough for her.

It was this same test of faith that Abraham and Sarah failed when they tried to accomplish God’s supernatural work by the works of the flesh. Sarah was also unable to conceive, and she suggested that Abraham impregnate her maidservant Hagar. The end result was Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

The New Testament looks back on this event as an allegory of the contrast between the bondage of the law and our liberty in grace (Galatians 4:21-31). Every believer must pass this test of faith to know true spiritual fruitfulness in contrast to the children produced through religious effort (Galatians 4:26).

• The Comparison. There was a difference in the portion of the blessing that Elkanah gave Peninnah and Hannah.

• The Consolation. Someone will make up for what God has refused you.

• The Comfort. No one can give us comfort when it is God’s will for us to suffer in order to bring us to the end of ourselves and make us dependent upon God.

• The Contentment. Beware of allowing others to get us to be content with a substitute.

• The Counterfeit. We are often tempted to rely on a counterfeit instead of waiting for God’s best. In the story of Abraham and Sarah, it was at this time that Sarah would substitute Hagar for her barren womb.

3. BATTERED

The third test that Hannah faced was a battering from Satan. The adversary will accuse you, condemn you and put you on a guilt trip. He will use other people to attack you, to discourage you, and to betray you.

And her adversary also provoked her (1:6,7). It is intriguing that the biblical record describes Peninnah as an adversary. This heightens our understanding of the rivalry and battle that was going on.

There are times we pray but our burdens become heavier, not lighter. Can you trust God and wait on God during these times? We are often burdened and in distress, to the point of wanting to give up and quit. That’s exactly what our enemy wants. We will give up if we rely on our own strength. It is in these times that God often allows even greater pressures on the outside to bring us to absolute surrender and dependence upon Him (see 2 Corinthians 4:7-11; 1:8, 9).

• We Are Battered and Face Accusations from Foes. Peninnah was not a friend but a foe. Satan inspired her to accuse Hannah.

• We Are Battered and Face Accusations from the Flesh. Our own discouragement from the flesh is our greatest enemy to faith.

• We Are Battered and Face Accusations from Family. Hannah’s husband did not help. Though he meant well, his words in verse eight only exacerbated the problem. Sometimes the advice from family members can hurt more than help. Do you remember the advice Job’s wife gave him? She told him to curse God and die. That probably wasn’t the gentile and quiet spirit that God encourages in wives (1 Peter 3:1).

• We Are Battered and Face Accusations from Friends. Friends will often give us sympathy rather than pointing us to God and encouraging us to trust Him. Friends sometimes misunderstand the work of God in our lives and turn from us. But those friends that have a walk of faith and can identify with you will encourage you, build you up, pray for you and keep you on the path God intends for you.

4. BURDENED

The fourth test of faith was to not let discouragement lead to despair but to let your burden lead you to greater faith in God. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat (1:7, 8).

• The Burden and Patience. Hannah was a follower of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises (Hebrews 6:12).

• The Burden and Persecution. Hannah was hurt over and over without relief. Peninnah’s words were relentless. However, she endured. She held up under the pressure and trusted God. Can you tell the difference between your own discouragement and a burden from God? Can you distinguish between your suffering and the sufferings of Christ in you? (see Philippians 3:10).

• The Burden and Perseverance. Hannah fasted and would not let go of her burden from God. She would travail in soul before she travailed with a child.

When it is the Lord who has shut the womb, then it is only God who can open the womb. When it is God who has closed some door on you, it is only God who can open the door of fruitfulness. Will you continue to trust Him?

5. BROKENNESS

The fifth test of faith was how tightly Hannah would hang on to God’s blessing. She had to answer the question, who does my womb and the fruit of my womb belong to? Is it God’s or mine? Through brokenness, Hannah learned that she had to relinquish her rights and give them back to God. Hannah prayed, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life (1:10, 11).

In these chapters, we will look at seven principles of brokenness:

1. The Purpose of Brokenness

2. The Proof of Brokenness

3. The Process of Brokenness

4. The Pattern of Brokenness

5. The Principle of Brokenness

6. The Pain of Brokenness

7. The Product of Brokenness

Among the many lessons we will learn are:

• Without brokenness, God’s glory is marred.

• Without brokenness, the blessings of God become a curse.

• Without brokenness, man is praised instead of God receiving glory.

• Without brokenness, God’s gifts are abused.

• Without brokenness, we experience the fruits of the law and not the fruits of the Spirit.

8. BLESSED

The sixth test of faith was to find God’s will and receive the promise. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of him (1:17).

• From Hope to Faith. Hope precedes faith (Hebrews 11:1).

• From Perseverance to Faith. Patience works with faith (Hebrews 6:12).

• From Faith to Faith: Faith can grow to greater faith (Hebrews 11:33).

How do we know that we have heard from God regarding our need and prayer? The wise and mature follower of Christ understands that it is by faith.

9. BELIEVING

The seventh test of faith says: Can we rejoice and thank God before the promise is fulfilled? Hannah did. And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Then they rose early in the morning, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned (1 Sam. 1:18-19).

• True belief will believe before it can see (John 20:29).

• True belief will call that which is not as though it were (Romans 4:17).

• True belief will lift your burdens and enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:9).

• True belief will change your behavior.

• True belief will hold the answer in its heart before it is actually received.

Hannah was so sure of her son from the moment that God gave His Word that she did not have to wait for Samuel before she gave God thanks. Once a believer learns to hear from and obtain from God by faith, there is no limitation on what God can do through his or her life. They have learned the secret of fruitfulness.

10. BETTERED

The eight test of faith: Will I walk with a new faith and dependence upon God in fruitfulness? (1 Samuel 2:1-10).

The paradox of faith and fruitfulness:

Hannah’s prayer of praise in chapter two reveals the paradox of the walk of faith and the secret of fruitfulness with God. The paradox is that we cannot prevail with God by our own strength. John 15:5 says that apart from Him we can do nothing. In God’s great work, the mighty are replaced by the stumbling, the full by the hungry, and the fruitful with the barren of God. It is God’s way to bring down the proud and lift up the humble. Thus to bring us to fruitfulness, God often shuts up the womb of our strength to bring us to barrenness. It is when we recognize our barrenness to accomplish God’s greater purpose in Christ and walk in dependence upon God, that He opens our barren womb and accomplishes His supernatural work of fruitfulness.

The blessing of barrenness brought Hannah:

• To brokenness.

• To the end of herself.

• To faith and dependence upon God.

• To total commitment.

• To supernatural fruit that blessed her and others.

YOUR RESPONSE:

Do you have any need in your life that has been met by God where you can say: this is my Samuel for whom I prayed?

Has God created in your heart a deep burden to see God work in such a way that you know that it was not accomplished by your own strength? Have you learned what it means to surrender?

Have you experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit and the abiding life in Christ that leads to fruitfulness?

Our challenge will be that we, like Hannah, may travail in spirit with such a burden to fulfill God’s greater purpose in Christ that we will not be satisfied with anything less that God opening the womb that is shut. As we do, we will hold in our hands the thing for which we travailed in prayer.

Are you ready to trust Him?

34573.jpg DISCOVERING OUR BARRENNESS COMES BEFORE OUR GREATER FRUITFULNESS

For it is written: Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise (Galatians 4:27-28).

If we are ever going to see fruitfulness in our lives, it is important that we identify with those in the Bible who were barren. There are great lessons for us to learn when we understand that in a spiritual sense, we are all barren in relationship to spiritual children and eternal fruit.

But do you know what the biggest trap is that we fall into? It is the trap of appearances.

There is much that we can do for God that gives the appearance of fruitfulness. We look so good, so busy, and so religious. But is it really eternal fruit? Or is it only temporal? Will it stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ or will it be like wood, hay and stubble that are burned up?

The Pharisees certainly gave the outward appearance of service to God only to have Jesus expose their works as to be seen of men and not God.

There is a difference between working for God and "God working through us." Moses was working for God when he first attempted to deliver Israel from Pharaoh with his sword. He failed in his fleshly effort, and ended up on the backside of the desert for forty years. But when Moses returned forty years later, he had learned dependence on God. This time he came with a simple shepherd’s staff – but in the hands of a dependent one, it became the rod of God, and