THE MINISTRY OF PROVOCATION

Usually, when God is trying to get your attention, He will send an irritant: someone who constantly agitates you. Peninnah was Hannah’s provocateur. Peninnah plucked Hannah’s nerves. The Bible says she provoked her. Peninnah would provoke Hannah because she was blessed, and Hannah was not; she was fruitful, and Hannah was not. Hannah would measure herself against Peninnah and question why she was worse off.

Do you know that God will send an enemy to provoke you? God will allow an irritant in your life to produce a pearl in your spirit. Pearls are made in irritating circumstances. They are formed by the sand that is trapped in a clam’s shell, and the sand becomes an irritant to the clam. That irritation causes calcium to form and that calcium becomes a pearl. Most often, God’s answer to prayer is an irritant. God used the ministry of Peninnah to provoke Hannah to better understand who she was, to discover the pearl forming on the inside of her.

God will allow irritation in your life to provoke you to return to school, open your own business, and even apologize for something that may be years old. God will provoke you to make the change that needs to happen. God’s answer to prayer doesn’t always reflect the passion of the prayer request. God’s answer looks more like Peninnah. 

The people who comfort you or calm you don’t really propel you toward your destiny. Instead, it’s that person who exacerbates your frustration and points out things that shame you. Peninnah pointed out things of which Hannah was already ashamed. Women in those days were proud to be fertile because the promise was given to Eve that the seed of the woman would rise up and prevail over the enemy. Every woman in that day wanted to be that woman through which the seed would come. A woman wanted to produce children because she believed her connection to her husband or her god was tied to it. A woman’s self-esteem was driven by it. Hannah was barren. It was all Peninnah’s pleasure to agitate Hannah because she was not able to produce.

There is a ministry of provocation that comes to prepare you and propel you to your next level. Sometimes, it is painful. But remember: Your provocateur will lead you to your purpose.