On Tuesday, Annie recounted the story of Hannah. Like Elizabeth, who we studied before Christmas, Hannah was not able to bear children. As you would imagine, this was the source of deep personal pain. In addition, society viewed these women as ‘less than’. Please read 1 Samuel 1 for Hannah’s full story.
Unlike Elizabeth, Hannah’s husband had married a second wife who bore him many children. “And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat” (1 Sam. 1:6-7). Even if we haven’t been in Hannah’s circumstances our hearts go out to her. How much pain can a heart bare? To be constantly provoked in your area of greatest weakness….so cruel.
It was customary to go up to Jerusalem once a year to offer sacrifices to the Lord. One year as Hannah went, along with her husband and his other wife and their children, she had come to the breaking point. She entered the temple and poured out her heart to the Lord in total vulnerability and brokenness. She laid her pain, her burden at His feet. She trusted God with her need.
Have you ever felt like Hannah – wanting something so badly, for so long, that your spirit is crushed? You may have prayed about it and done everything humanly possible to change the circumstance but to no avail. God will bring us to a point where there is only one thing to do. Surrender!
What ‘surrender’ is not…. it is not bargaining with God. I think that sometimes when we try to do this, in the back of our minds we think, ‘if I surrender this thing then God will give it to me’. That isn’t what God wants. We might fear that by surrendering it to God we will be left with a void in our hearts. A wise friend has pointed out to me that you know you have truly surrendered something to God when you have peace with the outcome, whatever it may be, even if it isn’t what you had wanted. No thing, no matter how good, can fill the spot in our heart that was only meant for God.
We see this surrender in Hannah’s words: “And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head” (1 Sam. 1:11). Hannah had come to a place where she could freely offer to God what He would give to her. “She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast” (1 Sam. 1:18).
Hannah was able to leave the presence of the Lord with joy and peace despite that there was no change in her circumstance. This is evidence of her surrender. As we read at the end of chapter 1, there is even more compelling evidence of the condition of Hannah’s heart. In the course of time she had a son named Samuel. After Samuel had been weaned she presented him to Eli the priest as she had promised so her son could serve the Lord all of his days. “So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there” (1 Sam 1:28).
Hannah’s attitude towards the Lord is reflected in her prayer. As she later prays we see the powerful testimony of her words. “Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:1-2).
This year in Women’s Bible Study we are supplementing each week’s teaching with a bible study book. As we have gone through the year we have focused on becoming women of positive influence. As I close, I would like to leave you with a quote from the author regarding Hannah. I pray that we, like Hannah, will come to a place where we will be fully surrendered to the Lord.
“Hannah is not a woman of faith simply because she bore a child; she is a woman of faith because she sought God when she was in her deepest distress, because she realized that only He could answer her questions and that only he could provide the consolation and purpose in life she so desperately sought”, (from Women of the Bible by Jean E. Syswerda, pg. 84).
the lesson was such a blessing to me.i had always thought that surrendering something toour lord was a selfish act, to make me feel better. then annie pointed out the impact hannans surrender had on future generations. it was a light bulb moment for me.may all you bible warriors be bathed in his grace
ReplyDeleteThank you! Another awesome example of God's love and mercy. To give him every aspect of my life is my desire. Praise His Name forever!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the overview. I was not able to be at the meeting on Tuesday due to the arrival of our first grandchild on Monday evening st 5 pm. His name is Bryson and he he weighted 7lbs 14 ounces. My daughter in law had an emergency c-section; she is doing well. As women of faith we should continue to seek God and surrender to his will. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
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