Skip to main content

God’s Intervention


             In 1 Samuel chapter one, we meet a lady named Hannah.  She wanted to have a baby, but was unable to and, in those days, that was a big problem.  Women were valued for their ability to produce children so that the family line would carry on.  If you could not have children, it was considered a curse. 

            So Hannah prays for God’s help.  In fact, she promises that, if she is blessed with a baby boy, she would give him back to the service of God.  In due time, her prayer is answered.  She has the baby and names him Samuel which, in Hebrew, sounds like the phrase “God heard me” (verse 20).

            Now, I have always thought of this chapter as “the story of Samuel’s birth”.  However, re-reading it, I noticed that Samuel really is not the focus of this passage.  Look at these references: “Worshipping the Lord Almighty (verse 3)… Priests of the Lord (3)… The Lord closed her womb (5 and 6)… Prayed at the house of the Lord (7)… The Lord’s temple (9)… Prayed to the Lord (10)… Addressed the Lord Almighty (11)… Vow to the Lord (11)… Praying to the Lord (12)… Pouring out her soul to the Lord (15)… Worshipped before the Lord (19)… The Lord remembered her (19)… Because I asked the Lord for him” (20).

            Fourteen times in seventeen verses “The Lord” is mentioned.  Not only is he mentioned, he is actively doing something.  God is not a bystander in this story.  He is involved, listening and, eventually, he intervenes.  This is not a chapter about “The birth of Samuel”.  Rather this is a chapter about “What God was doing in the life of Hannah”.

            We do ourselves a great disservice when we convince ourselves that God is not really at work in our lives.  When we live as if we are on our own and that God is a far way off somewhere, we lose the blessing that we are supposed to have.  The fact is that we serve a God who knows us and sees us.  In speaking of God’s closeness to us, Jesus says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid!” (Luke 12:7).

            Hannah did not let her pain and struggle make her bitter and she did not give up on her faith in God.  Though she could not see it at the time, even in her pain, God was writing a beautiful ending to her story.

            God did an amazing thing in Hannah’s life. 

            What can he do in yours?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Terrible Trade

            I used to have a Wayne Gretzky rookie card.               However, when I was 12 years old I did not like Wayne Gretzky, so I traded the card to my brother.   A few years ago, I remembered that incident, so I went looking for the card. Sure enough, there is was in a box in my mom’s basement.   Now here is the thing:   even in bad shape, Gretzky rookie cards sell for around $250.   Needless to say, that was not a good trade on my part.   I simply did not recognize what I had and so I traded away something valuable for something with almost no value at all.             With that in mind, notice how the letter to the Galatians starts: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don’t Be a Tourist

                  From the moment that God told Abraham to leave his home and follow him (Genesis 12:1-3), God’s people have understood that they are on a journey.                 That being true, the essential question becomes, “How are you making that journey?”   T here are two options: You can be a tourist or you can be a pilgrim.                   Tourists leave their real life behind for a little while so that they can visit another place.   Generally, they travel in groups and do not mix much with the local people.   They hit the highlights of various regions, but they do not really experience what it is like to live in that part of t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Navigating Life's Transitions: Finding the good when nothing stays the same

Things change. Always. The question isn't "How do we stop that?", but rather, "What are we supposed to learn from it?"  https://youtu.be/ECxnQwRFyXI  
Post a Comment
Read more