Hannah & Samuel

The story of Hannah & Samuel has come up in conversation many times recently, which made me want to examine it again. While I read it, so many of the verses speak to me. I love that the word is active and alive and always speaks in new and different ways. Of course this story hits close to home for me because it’s about infertility, so I wanted to share some of what stood out to me:

• Verse 1 – Elkanah was called a ‘certain man’. This story is such a reminder that God words through the ordinary, every day people like you and me. God used Elkanah, just as He can use you and I for His purposes.
• Verse 5 & 6 – God is sovereign over the womb. Just as mentioned in 1 Samuel 1:6, He also mentions this in Genesis 20:18, Genesis 29:31, and Genesis 30:22. He is the one who opens and closes the womb.
• Verse 8 – Just as husbands like and try to do now, Elkanah tried to fix Hannah’s problems. No matter how much he tried, Elkanah couldn’t fulfill her desire to be a mom.
• Verse 8 – Similarly, just as wives often do when battling infertility, Sarah grew in bitterness and she wept. This is one of the things that makes me most sad about infertility – is seeing all the woman who grow bitter. Hannah is so blessed, but was blindsided by it all that her bitterness and tears that overtook her.
• Verse 10 & 15 – Hannah brought her feelings to the Lord. What Hannah did with her feelings is the same thing we should do – run to Him, not away from Him.
• Verse 11 – Hannah comes to a place of complete surrender when she told the Lord she would dedicate her son to the Lord if He blessed her womb, a place we should all be no matter if we are waiting for something from the Lord or not.
• Verse 19 – Hannah worshiped the Lord, in faith, even though she hadn’t conceived. What a beautiful example of praising God before the miracle.
• Verse 20 – “In the course of time” Hannah became pregnant. Just like always, God was RIGHT on time.

What I love about Hannah’s story is how her story of conceiving ends. 1 Samuel 2:21 says, “Hannah had 2 daughters and 3 sons.” Yes, she had to wait, but she didn’t just conceive one child, she conceived 6! Isn’t that just like God to show up and do abundantly more? There is so much to be learned from Hannah’s story. I want to make sure I’m taking my concerns to the Lord and praising Him in faith before I receive my miracle. I have no doubt that He will bless us at the perfect time and it will be beyond what we could have asked or hoped for.