The Place Where God Often Begins

How do you view trouble? I know you're initial answer to that question, as well as my own, is probably something negative. And that's understandable. Trouble is not enjoyable. However, in the midst of times of trouble or despair we may find great comfort in knowing our tribulation may be the precursor to God's great work of deliverance. After all, trouble and barrenness is the place God often begins to do some of His most glorious works. As we begin our study of 1st Samuel, God will begin to answer Israel's crisis of leadership through a woman who was in the middle of a crisis of her own.