Imagine for a moment – a young woman sat at the kitchen table, flipping through pages of fertility clinic waivers; to her left are overdue expenses for her numerous visits…everything that she’s tried for the past few years has proven a bust. The desire to get pregnant is overwhelming, as each trip and experience was a failure – now she’s at her wits end.
To make matters worse, she has a ‘friend’ who won’t stop taunting and mocking her. What is the joke? Ah, that she can’t get pregnant – but her friend can. Like, what? Who does that? That ‘friend’ is obviously not a friend at all, but regardless of this, she is still in her life.
Now let’s spice this story up a little bit (in a strange way).
The ‘friend’ is actually married to her husband as well…yeah, ponder on that for a moment. We just went up a level in drama. Not only does Hannah, the person we’ve been reading about, want a baby terribly, but she is also contending against an ignorant, rub-it-in snob who can get pregnant and has children already. Yeesh, talk about drama!
Then we add in a sort of clueless husband, Elkanah, who in the midst of all this pain, says to Hannah one day, “Why are you crying? Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me – isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Yes by!
Come on, man! Your wife is in agony and that’s your comforting words? Meanwhile, the bullying continues by Peninnah, the ‘friend’ …day after day.
One day, Hannah, her husband, and the ‘friend’, travel to the Tabernacle (church) for a customary meal and ceremony (this was a big deal for them, as it was a holy moment before the Lord). The following day, Hannah got up early and went to pray near the Tabernacle. As she prays, she starts to weep uncontrollably… as each word, every joke, all the failures, come flooding back into her mind. This is what she prayed:
“O Lord of heaven’s armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”
Now we have a make or break moment.
Eli the priest is sitting near the entrance and see’s Hannah praying. Since he is further away, and she is most likely talking lower as she prays, he notices her lips moving but doesn’t hear any of her words – thus he assumes she is drunk.
Could this get any worse for Hannah? Now she is in a place of God, a place where she is supposed to be safe, and she is about to receive a haymaker. But will she block it?
“Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”
She responds like lightning!
“Oh no, sir! I haven’t been drinking any wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
Thank God for a woman of courage! A woman who takes insult after insult, but is strong in her will and most importantly, her belief in God.
” In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked him.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed.
Hannah then went back to where she was staying, began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. A short time after Hannah and Elkanah went back home with ‘the friend’, Hannah became pregnant, as the Lord remembered her plea.
In case you never guessed, this was actually a true story from the Bible (with some creative flow from myself).
This whole story of pain, depression, prayer, judgement, led to one of the greatest prophets and heroes of the Old Testament – Samuel. In his lifetime, he would rescue the people of Israel from their enemies; anoint the first king of Israel, Saul; guide and anoint David, “A man after God’s own heart”, and so much more.
His mother, Hannah, was instrumental in the legacy of her son and what would come about for the nation of Israel. Her determination to not give into ridicule, cruelty, and bullying is a model of success for women and men alike. Yet, there is something noteworthy here – do you notice who she relied on? It wasn’t her husband. She did not rely on Eli the priest (who incorrectly judged her to begin with). She took her sorrow, pain, and prayers to the Lord… Almighty God.
Friends, people will fail us. It’s the friend who was supposed to be your friend for life…but turned their back on you.
The leader (religious or non-religious) who hurt you. Like the time I walked into a church as a teenager with my hat on. I was greeted at the door by a man who told me to, “Take your hat off and show respect. This is a place of God…” When the service was over… after I had worshiped the same, and conducted myself the way I always did in church, that same man came up and apologized to me.
Now I could have been offended and walked out… but would good would that have done? I was there to worship God, not get man’s approval. The cool part is though, the Lord obviously worked on his heart too during that service.
Remember – we need the Lord…whether you think you do or not. Waiting for the end of the road to “get right with God” is a dangerous fence to straddle. In this day and age of substance abuse, bullying, depression, mental health issues and more, we need a Lord and Saviour who can deliver us, and that can only be found in Jesus Christ.I hope you enjoyed today’s post. If you want to read the story that I had some creative editing with (yet everything is true to the story), please read 1 Samuel 1 here https://www.bible.com/.
Have a wonderful day!
Christian
The Eason Clan 