Say your life’s wish is just outside of your grasp. You yearn for it. You long for it. You pray to God until you’re face down in bitterness of soul. You weep. You pray. Onlookers think something’s wrong. Do they comfort you? Nope! They chastise you for living outside of the norm. They call you a drunk. Maybe a wimp. Perhaps they even say God’s house is no place for such emotions. What would you do?
In 1 Samuel chapter 1 Hannah is in a similar situation. She’s face down in bitterness of soul. She weeps. She prays. But she’s taken for a drunk! Nevertheless, God hears Hannah’s prayer. He hears Hannah’s vow to give her son to the service of the Lord.
God heard. God blessed. God gave. Hannah had a son, Samuel.
Hannah’s story shows us an amazing, bizarre, maybe even neglectful reaction to a blessing. Hannah gives her son over to the service of the Lord – at age 3! He stays at the Tabernacle the Lord. Hannah sees him once a year. He works for the Lord. He lives his whole life in the service of the Lord. Hannah watches her son grow from a distance.
Hannah called her son a blessing. She saw him as a gift from the Lord. Not a gift to have for her own purposes. A gift from God. A gift to her. A gift to bless others. And Samuel did just that!
In the midst of our bitterness of soul… As we struggle with our life’s wish. With our incompleteness. With our imperfections. God provides a blessing. Jesus Christ.
God hears. God blesses. God gives. God sent His Son to live his whole life in the service of the Lord. A blessing sent to us. A blessing we seek to give to others. A blessing that transforms how we view all we’ve been given.
On the Journey,
Pastor Mark
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