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As I wrote my blog this morning, I thought about the people who would read it. Honestly, I never know who or how many. I told God when I began to write several years ago, if He would give me words, I would share them and leave the rest to Him.
So I think about the reader right now. I think about you. I wonder to myself what burdens you carry. How are you doing?
Maybe life is good and you’re feeling at peace. But maybe not.
Do you feel as though you’re in a deep pit of despair and there is no help in sight? I hope you’ll be encouraged today. My prayer is that God will use these words as an ointment of healing to your heart.
Whatever you’re going through you might find great comfort and wisdom in the story of Hannah. God did the impossible for her and He can do the same for you, no matter what you face.
She was facing a tough situation. She was barren.
Of course Hannah was heartbroken. But the implications of her situation carried even more devastating grief for women of her time than they do today. I don’t know that we could fully understand without living in that culture how terrible it was to be childless.
A woman’s value was often tied to childbearing, especially bearing a son who would carry on the family name and legacy. If a woman could not conceive, she was often scorned and considered useless.
In the eyes of her culture she was as good as dead but she was greatly loved by her husband and by God.
We can read her story in 1 Samuel 1. Let’s take a look at her sad situation.
1 Samuel 1:1-7
1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children.5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
Peninnah would taunt Hannah. As I read this, I feel the frustration, shame, and anger that must’ve been in Hannah’s heart. Tragically, Hannah may have come to believe in her heart much of what Peninnah said.
Are you feeling taunted right now? Are you believing the enemy’s lies about your situation?
Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, loved her. He said to her,
8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?” 1 Samuel 1:8
Hannah’s husband loved her. He wanted to comfort her, but He could not help her. So Hannah went to the Lord.
9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” 1 Samuel 1:9-11
Understand, Hannah was as desperate as one can be. In verses 12-17, we see that the priest at the temple thought she was drunk she was so forlorn.
12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”
15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” Samuel 1:12-17
Do you identify with that kind of desperation?
What happens next really struck me. In verse 7 we saw that Hannah was so distraught she couldn’t even eat. She pours out her heart before the Lord with great anguish and then look what happens next. Once the priest spoke his hope of blessing on her she replied…
18 “Oh, thank you, sir!”… Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
This reminds me of a song I heard as a child. “Leave it there. Leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.” That’s exactly what Hannah did. How do we know? Because the verse said she went back to eat again and was no longer sad.
Let’s not miss the implications here. She was full of desperation and turmoil as she prayed. But once she left, she left her burden there.
I love what happens next:
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lordonce more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
She remembers her prayers to the Lord and her promise to dedicate her son to Him.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull[i] for the sacrifice and a basket[j] of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they[k worshiped the Lord there.
This encounter with the Lord has a profound impact on Hannah. The prayer she prays before leaving the temple is evidence of this.
Hannah’s Prayer – 1 Samuel 2:1-10
2 Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
2 No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions.
4 The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
5 Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
6 The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.
7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
8 He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
9 “He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength of his anointed one.”
But God goes further in blessing Hannah. Look at what happens in verse 21.
And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. 1 Samuel 2:21
I jotted some notes in my journal. Perhaps you can apply these thoughts to your present circumstances.
1 – We see Hannah’s condition:
- bitter anguish
- barrenness
- sorrow
- discouragement
- scorned and taunted
2 – We see Hannah’s solution.
- She clearly seeks God personally.
- She prays to God.
- She appeals to His position as Lord of Heaven’s Armies – power above all else. V.11
3 – We see Hannah’s request and vow.
- Grant me a son. (Not just a child, but a son.)
- I will offer him back to You.
4 – We see Hannah’s release.
- She poured out her heart on the altar and left her burden there.
- She began to eat.
- She no longer felt sad.
5 – We see Hannah’s reward.
- The Lord remembered her plea. V.19
- She named him Samuel – meaning I asked the Lord for him.
6 – We see Hannah’s testimony.
- When he was weaned, she brought Samuel to the tabernacle. V. 24
- She kept her promise to God.
- She made the offering of her son a form of worship. V. 28
7 – We see Hannah’s legacy.
- God heard Hannah and granted what was otherwise impossible.
- God gave Hannah 3 more sons & two daughters.
Friend, God is faithful and desires to hear the cries of those who seek Him.
Maybe it’s time you followed Hannah’s example.
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19
God delivers the righteous. Righteous doesn’t mean perfect. It simply means, “those who seek right living” that is laid out before us in God’s Word. This starts with a personal relationship with Him.
If you don’t know God, if you don’t have a personal relationship with Him, you can. Click here to find out more…How to Know God Personally
