Elements of a story I just read: a love triangle, the tragedy of a barren woman, spiteful cattiness between rival women, bitter weeping, 'craziness', healing (of hearts), miracles, and somehow, a happy ending. Um, is this a soap opera? No, it would be 1 Samuel chapter 1. I'm not going to give any more details of this chapter. It is such a juicy chunk of scripture, you simply must read it for yourself. Go ahead. Do it now. I highly suggest you do your homework for this one, because there may or may not be a pop quiz on the reading today. I'm just sayin'. (The text can be accessed using the link at the top of this post, it's pretty simple.)
Ok, now that you've done your reading, I've got a few questions for you coming away from reading 1 Samuel 1.
Q1. Who is your taunter?
Q2. What does he say?
Q3. What are you believing God for in prayer?
Q4. When was the last time, like Hannah, you poured out your heart to the Lord? (Psalm 62:8)
If you're stuck pondering the answers to the questions, no worries, I've prepared a cheat sheet.
A1. The Devil. Satan. Lucifer. Call him what you want, but ultimately, he's the 'taunter' of us all. (John 8:44)
A2. You can't trust God. He won't do what he said and/or he won't do what's good for you. (Genesis 3:1-5)
A3. I can't answer this one for you, it's different for all of us and most likely evolves as we journey through this life.
A4. Again, only you know the answer to this one, but if it hasn't been recently, I encourage you to ask God to break open the floodgates in your heart so that you might be able to pour out on him the deepest, truest thoughts/feelings/fears in your heart. He can handle it.
While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter in it's entirety, my absolute favorite verse was 18, "...Then she went her way and ate something and her face was no longer downcast." Doesn't sound like much, until you consider the reality sandwiched around this seemingly superfluous detail. Hannah was in desperate need. She chose to pour out her heart to God. She pleaded with him, petitioning his merciful power to meet her needs. Then, just like that, she was no longer sad. Sure, it was a choice she made. But it wasn't a choice based on her circumstances, or on blessings poured out on her. Her choice was based, in faith, on the unchanging God. She could choose to be glad, because she knew he could be trusted.
I already said it, but I will say it again. If you have not poured out your heart to God recently, Psalm 62:8 style, you're just hurting yourself. It is so often, in this emptying out before him, that he shows up with the gift of faith that is enough to hold fast. Enough to make you glad.
*BONUS QUESTION*
Have you chosen to BELIEVE the word of the Lord and then, therefore, choose to 'no longer be sad'? If not, then I encourage you to not wait on your circumstances, but be encouraged by believing in faith. Stand firm on the promises of his faithfulness. He is faithful.
(Note: Hannah didn't decide to 'no longer be sad' once she became pregnant, but once she believed in the Lord's goodness and faithfulness to come through on His promise to her. It was a response to her faith.)
Lord, you are so good to me. You are faithful and you can be trusted. You are the strength of my heart and my portion. I will trust in you. Because you hear my prayers and care deeply for me, I will choose to be glad. Let me bless you with praise from my mouth and worship from my heart. I love you, Lord.
Psalm 21:6
Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
Psalm 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Bethany! How beautiful. Love this message. As I'm up in the middle of the night to feed my 5 week old baby; I've gained strenghth from the Lord through your blog. Lovely:)
ReplyDeleteThat was excellent Beff! The guest pastor at Northwest Bible preached on Samuel 3 today and as I was looking back on the things I'd underlined from my previous study of Samuel TWO YEARS ago I looked and saw "Then the women went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad" was underlined! I stuttered to remember why I had underlined that and what the meaning was behind it. Then the Lord spoke through you and your blog today to me to remember the LORD is faithful to the end. Amen!
ReplyDeleteAmazing, you study, share and articulate god's word SO well Bethany it is truly a gift from Him. What a neat chapter, it revived my thirst For His word.. Thank u for this devo really enjoyed it.. Love your beautiful heart when the depths of it come out . :) love u!
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