Toy Stories: Barbie — Humble vs. Powerful - Wednesday
Today’s Verse
1 Samuel 1:10
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. (ESV)
We’ve all gone through seasons of waiting.
Waiting to hear back from the school you applied to. Waiting to find out if you got the job. Waiting for the diagnosis. Waiting to find a spouse. Waiting to expand your family. Waiting for that friend or family member to finally turn to Jesus.
Waiting is hard.
In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah waited as best she knew how. For years, she waited to bear a child, all while her husband’s second wife, Penninah, didn’t seem to face that same problem. Instead, Penninah would provoke Hannah until she wept and would not eat or drink. This went on for years. On one trip up to Shiloh to worship the Lord, Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, and Penninah provoked her again. Her husband, Elkanah, wasn’t sensitive to her sorrow and asked a series of questions that only showed his distance from her and lack of empathy, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8).
We don’t get to hear Hannah’s direct response, but in her sorrow, she does the next best thing she knows how: she prays.
And not just a half-hearted prayer, Scripture says, “she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.” So much so that the priest, Eli, took her for a drunk woman.
Hannah could have done so many things. She could have taken out her anger, complained to everyone around her, or even run with Eli’s idea of drunkenness. Instead, she poured her heart out to the Lord and in humility, made a vow to give her son back to the Lord, should the Lord answer her prayer.
In her waiting, Hannah exercised humility by recognizing that she did not have control over her circumstances. More than that, she recognized the One who did and sought Him. No matter the outcome or length of our waiting, God can use it for His good and His glory. Will we let Him?
APPLICATION
We often overlook the power of prayer, so I’m going to propose the same challenge as yesterday. Sometimes our sorrow is so deep, we think it’s best to sit with it alone. But God invites us to bring our burdens to Him. Grab your Bible, a journal, and set aside one hour to walk through the prayer cycle again. I’m praying you’ll sense God’s peace as you lay your burdens in His hands.
Need something to read? Try 1 Samuel 1, Matthew 11:28-30, or Proverbs 31:10-31.
PRAYER
Lord, some days this waiting feels like it will never end. Remind me that my hope is not in the outcome of my circumstances, but in You alone. No matter what happens, no matter how long, mold and shape me into the person You made me to be. Teach me humility, that I might learn to seek You all the days of my life. Amen.
