Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 1:18, And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
What a drastic turnaround we see in Hannah in this verse. What caused this 180 turnaround in her life? Was it Eli’s statement to her in verse 17? Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” What he said to her was only part of what caused her countenance and overall being to change. The foundation of the change that suddenly took place can be found in a couple of New Testament verses that apply to us today. Sadly, there are far too many of us who claim that we trust and have faith in the Lord, yet our reactions to trials, and difficult circumstances, say the opposite. We tell the rest of the world how great it is to have the Lord in our lives, but then we react to life’s challenges as if we really do not believe that God is big enough to take care of us or that He is truly in control of our circumstances. The first thing we see in Hannah’s situation is that she clearly knows that God cares for her and what is happening in her life. This is evident in verse 10, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.” This is the same principal and truth we find in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Do we really believe that God cares for us, or do we let what we see of our circumstances to dictate that for us? If the trials we suffer are the determining factor as to whether God loves us or not, then we hand that control over to the demons who love to accuse God falsely in our minds. What we go through in life is not, and should not be, the determining factor in our lives as it pertains to God’s love for us. No matter what we suffer, God’s love for us is unchanging. Yes, even if we are the ones who cause our own heartache and pain. If He loved us when we were yet His enemies (Roman 5:8), why would he love us less now that we are His children? Does that not seem foolish? If Jesus’ love for us was such that He would give the ultimate sacrifice, could anything possibly change that? The simple answer is no, nothing can change that. He told us that in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The peace that Hannah experienced came, not so much by Eli’s words, but from that fact that she prayerfully brought the anxiety of her situation right to the feet of the Lord. Does this sound familiar to any of us? Philippians 4:6-7 clearly says to us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We say that we know that God cares for us, but then we go out of our way to try and solve our own problems. We say that we trust God and have faith in Him, but then we pray and we continue to worry. Is that really believing and having faith that God cares for us and will take care of us? What does that say to the world that is watching us? Hannah’s actions, after praying and bringing her burden to the Lord, are what people today need to see in our lives. They need to see that even though our personal world seems to be falling apart around us, we walk in peace and have joy. When they see this kind of peace, this is the peace described in Philippians 4:7, “the peace that passes all understanding”; the kind of peace that enables us to put our joy on display when we should be crying and panicked. This is the kind of peace that leaves those who do not know the Lord admiring the courage and strength we display, not for our own pat on the back, but for the opportunity to tell them about the One who is responsible for the tranquility in our lives, the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ. Hannah had the peace that guarded her heart and mind. We who are called the children of God have, in Christ, the Holy Spirit who seals us and indwells us. If we truly trust the Lord with our circumstances, should we not also be able to come out of prayer wiping away our tears, and with our countenance changed? If we do not, is it because God does not care and cannot be trusted, or is it our lack of faith in the God, who delivered us from sin and death? I believe we know the answer to that question.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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