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Hannah (part 3)

"God, why me?" Hannah must have asked. "Is this what I get for worshiping You? Did I do something wrong? Are You listening when I cry for help? Why have You not only denied me a baby, but given many children to my rival? Is there no justice? Or is it that You just don't care?" On a scale from 1 to 10 for self-worth, Hannah probably registered a 'minus 9.' She felt rejected. Set aside. Humiliated. And very desperate. What happens to a person who is that stressed, that shattered, that defeated, that desperate? (P.S. Have you ever felt that way?)

Here's what often happens: First comes hurt. Then comes distress. Then confusion. Next comes anger. And then comes bitterness.

As we continue our reading of 1 Samuel chapter 1 this week, we see that as Hannah went year after year without the blessing of having children, she became bitter. She was bitter about her unending unproductiveness and she was bitter about the painful attacks of Peninnah, her relentless rival.

If you have ever been bitten by bitterness, you know how insidious it is. It's like toxic waste in one's emotional system. One of its effects is a clouded perception. We see this happening to Hannah in verse 8. In her bitterness and confusion, she overlooked her greatest blessing: Hannah had a husband who loved her deeply. This blessing was also the very reason Peninnah, who had many children, was being such a jealous pain: Her husband didn't love her the way Hannah was loved.

This happens to us, too, doesn't it? Absorbed by this or that pressure, how many times have you and I ignored the blessings God showered on us? We do understand Hannah, don't we? How easily we are contaminated; how readily we succumb. At such a time, we need an anchor and a harbor. We need a certain kind of friend and a quiet place to rest. This is a time when abiding becomes essential.

Hannah had an anchor and a harbor. Her anchor was the LORD Almighty, and her harbor was His temple. In spite of her hurt, her confusion and her bitterness, she knew where to go for refuge. She resolved to remain with Him. She determined to "abide," to wait on Him.

Verse 9 says that, after excusing herself from Thanksgiving dinner, she escaped to her harbor, the temple. Once inside, she poured out her heart to the One she loved.

Note the significance of her choice of words: She cried out to God, using the name that emphasizes His unqualified sovereignty, "the LORD of hosts, the LORD Almighty."

"Give me a son," she bargained, "and I will give him back to You for life." Again we understand Hannah, don't we? How often we have bargained. "God, if You just get me out of this jam/ just let me achieve that goal/ just let me be rich/ just let me marry him (or her)/ just give me success in this venture, I'll live wholeheartedly for You the rest of my life."

In spite of us, He is a wonderful and merciful God. The LORD Almighty did hear Hannah's cry and answer her affirmatively. Through Eli the priest, He assured her that she would bear a son. It was winter now, but spring was coming. The barren tree was about to blossom. What a difference a prayer makes.

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story...of the birth of the prophet Samuel. His mother, Hannah, did bring him to the temple, committing him to a lifetime of ministry as she had vowed.

There, the son she almost never had became one of the most influential people in Old Testament history. As judge, prophet, kingmaker and king breaker, Samuel cut a wide swath.

"And what happened to Hannah?" you ask. God continued to bless Hannah. He gave her several more children. And what about her former rival, Peninnah? She is nowhere again mentioned in scripture. She is remembered only as the abrasive, malicious and heartless antagonist of the future mother of Samuel. What a legacy.

Hannah, in contrast, is immortalized in scripture as a person characterized by lifestyle worship. She became a testimony and encouragement to all ages by (1) keeping her trust in God and (2) keeping her vow to God. Her acts of worship, as we have seen these days, were simple (but not easy). They were whole-hearted; they were daring; they were an on-going sacrifice. What a glory to God she was! I close today with this question: How will people reminisce about you?