June 12, 2024
“Hannah went her way and ate,
and her face was no longer sad." ~ 1 Samuel 1:18
Many people know the Biblical figure Hannah from the Old Testament. She was the mother of Samuel, the child given to the service of the Lord who later became a central figure in the days of David. There must be something about her life that resonates with people (women in particular) because, of all the Bible lessons I’ve taught, the narrative of Hannah is THE most popular by quite a bit.
Perhaps Hannah personifies our human condition:
She was facing a certain brand of personal difficulty — not being able to conceive a child. We all face some type of personal difficulties in life as well.
She suffered from annoying interactions with those close to her — her husband meant well but his efforts to cheer her missed the mark — her rival purposefully provoked her — the spiritual figure in her world misunderstood her and accused her of being drunk. We also have irregular people in our lives that can cause similar irritations.
All of the situations in Hannah’s life created a recipe for a nasty brew of emotions and, you guessed it, sometimes we also experience a nasty brew of emotions. But, the beauty of her story lies in the choices she made as to what to do with her emotions.
Look how intense Hannah’s emotions were as she went to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:10-11) Hannah was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. This was a woman carrying hard emotions and the reality is that we sometimes find our path filled with hard emotions.
We can’t always control how we feel, but we can control what we do about how we feel. Hannah gives us a simple, yet profound example of what to do with hard emotions, the ONLY answer is to run to the Lord and pour out your soul (v.15). It’s okay to be in deep distress and to weep bitterly (v.10), to have great anxiety and vexation (v.16), those are real emotions, they’re hard emotions. But it’s not okay to be inconsolable and unable to receive refreshment from the Lord.
In Hannah’s case, the very person who accused her of being a babbling drunk gave her a promise of the exact refreshment she was seeking! (v.17) Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” How easy it would have been for emotions to rule the day and for her to lash out something to the effect that Eli understood nothing of what was going on in her life and how dare he even say anything to her!
But Hannah instinctively knew something about the Lord that later Psalmists would write in many different ways — when a person cries out to the Lord, He hears!
Psalm 34:6 In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
Hannah was looking for refreshment and willing to receive refreshment. I love how the episode at the temple is quickly wrapped up in v.18 Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Isn’t that a simple goal in life? To be no longer sad? The brief amount of verses in 1 Samuel 1 might threaten to over-simplify the matter, yet sometimes we naturally over-complicate the matter, so I’m okay with it.
Maybe there is a nugget here for someone reading today. You might have small but hard emotions, or large and hard emotions. Maybe peeking into Hannah’s life it just the inspiration you need to take any of your hard emotions to the Lord. Or, maybe someone reading today needs a summer Bible study and 1 Samuel might be just the thing!
As for me, tomorrow’s stop on the chemo train will be station 4 of 16. This is the last time I’ll be stopping at a station exactly like this one and I’m pretty happy about that. Everything in me is hoping that the remaining stations (5-16) will be a little more pleasant somehow!
Thanks for following — sending you my love and blessings,
Sue
www.ccontario.com/wow-1samuel