The Hannah In You

I’ve been reading in the Bible about Hannah and I’ve been so captivated by her spirit of gratefulness towards God and complete faith in who God is.  Hannah’s story has spoken to me in a place that is so deep within me.  I guess I stand in awe of who she is and pray to be more like her.

If you don’t know the story, Hannah wants so badly to have children but she cannot.  She prays and cries out to the Lord and promises God that if He grants her a son, she will give him back to God.  God finds favor on Hannah and gives her a son, Samuel.

As I was reading the story, I felt Hannah’s pain.  I could sense her agony as she prayed to God.  In fact, in 1 Samuel 1:15, the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk because Hannah was in fervent prayer, moving her lips yet not speaking.  He tells her to stop drinking and she replies “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.  I have drunk neither wine or intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.”

Think about those words “poured out my soul before the Lord”.  Have you ever been there?  Have you ever been in such agony that you have poured out your soul to the Lord?  That moves my very core.  It reminds me of when I was going through my divorce.  I remember crying so hard and having these conversations with God that only He heard.  I felt like I was pouring out my soul before Him and He was left with a desperate, sorrowful mess.

I have to admit there were many times that I didn’t think He heard my cry.  Perhaps I believed that He had turned away from me, especially because I was going through a divorce.  I felt like God was disappointed in me and I was now out of His sight.

I guess this is where Hannah and I are different.  She never doubted who God was and could be in her life.  She always held on to her hope in God.  In fact, even in her sorrow, she promises to give back to God her child.

Who is this woman?  And is there a Hannah in me somewhere?

In my countless moments of desperation, do I still hold on to hope in God?

This is what I’m left with as I read and re-read this story.  The thing is that, like Hannah, God heard my cry and found favor on me.  He turned around my mess and made it into a beautiful love story.  And I believe He can do the same for you.

I don’t know what your situation is but for those of you who may be pouring out your soul to God in this season of your life, hold on to hope.

Find the Hannah in you.

God bless you!