WE CAN CHANGE EVEN THOUGH OUR CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT

“THEN ELI ANSWERED AND SAID, ‘GO IN PEACE; AND MAY THE GOD OF ISRAEL GRANT YOUR PETITION THAT YOU HAVE ASKED OF HIM.’ SHE SAID, ‘LET YOUR MAIDSERVANT FIND FAVOR IN YOUR SIGHT.’ SO THE WOMAN WENT HER WAY AND ATE, AND HER FACE WAS NO LONGER SAD.” I SAMUEL 1:18

We can be tormented by our day-to-day circumstances.  Such was the case of Hannah, first wife of Elkanah.  She was loved and honored by her husband, but she was also childless.  In the Old Testament, this was interpreted by others that you were not loved or blessed by God. 

So a second wife was taken…possibly because of Hannah being childless.  Peninnah produced sons and daughters for Elkanah but used her blessing to provoke Hannah to tears, causing Hannah to be so distraught that she would weep and complain and not eat at the annual sacrifice in Shiloh.  Words such as “rival”, “bitter”, and “irritate”, are used to describe the relationship between these 2 women.   Peninnah was relentless, tormenting Hannah year after year after year.  Hannah did everything in her power to make it stop, fussing and complaining to those around her, but nothing changed.

Finally she took it to God.  In her prayer to Him at the temple she was “greatly distressed” and “wept bitterly”.  Her spirit was oppressed.  She poured all her anger and frustrations and bitterness out before the Lord and made a vow that, if God would remember His maidservant and give her a son, then she would give that son back to the Lord all the days of his life. 

After her prayer “the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (I Samuel 1: 18) The next morning “they arose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord” (I Samuel 1:19) before returning to their home.  Hannah’s countenance completely changed even though her circumstances did not.  She was able to experience joy in the midst and able to worship the Lord despite being without child. Peninnah was still also in the midst of their family life with all of her children traveling back to Ramah, but oddly enough there is never the mention of her name ever again, either here or anywhere in the Bible.  She simply disappears from the forefront.  It’s because Hannah’s focus went from gazing at the circumstance and glancing at God to the opposite of gazing at God and worshipping Him and glancing at her rival.

Hannah’s bitterness turned into blessings instead.  Hannah’s name means “grace”.  She was able to extend unmerited favor to those around her.  How thankful Elkanah must have been that Hannah’s heart was no longer sad.  How mystified Peninnah must have been to hold no power over Hannah any longer.

Hannah learned the word CONTENTMENT.  Paul in the New Testament learned CONTENTMENT also:  “…I have learned to be CONTENT in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” (Philippians 4:11-12)

The word CONTENT is translated “autarkies” and means: 1) sufficient for one’s self, strong enough or possessing enough to need no aid or support 2) independent of external circumstances 3) content with one’s lot, with one’s means, though the slenderest.

Hannah was able to live independently of her external life because her internal life had been cleansed, altered at the alter.  In time her circumstances did change, because the Lord blessed Hannah by giving her a son named Samuel, one of the greatest prophets of Israel’s time.  But Hannah’s heart was already at rest.  The blessing of pregnancy only made her life all the sweeter.

By the way, the name Samuel means “God has heard.”  It is a reminder to us today that God hears our prayers, too!  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6-7)

Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah kept her vow before the Lord and took him to the priest in Shiloh and left him there to be dedicated all the days of his life in service to the Lord.  This must have been so difficult to do. When she did, however, she did so with worship and praise, not knowing that she would be the mother of 3 more sons and 2 daughters. 

“My heart exults in the Lord;

My horn is exalted in the Lord,

My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

There is no one holy like the Lord,

Indeed, there is no one besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.”

 

(I Samuel 2:1-2)

Generations later, Mary, the mother of Jesus, would pronounce her own Psalm of praise, using some of Hannah’s very words intertwined with her own. 

How about you?  Have you ever been that honest and that open with God in prayer, crying out to Him, telling Him why you are bitter, angry, distressed?  God alone completely understands and wipes away your tears.  There is nothing to fear when you are open and honest with Him because “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.”  (Psalm 139:4) 

And what about praising Him in the midst of your circumstances?  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”  It says that it is a sacrifice to praise God in the midst of our circumstances, which means it can be a hard thing to do, but it allows us to be humble before the Lord and believe that He is in control of all things, working it out for our good and His glory to those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. He does not promise us perfect lives, but He does promise us His presence in our lives, day in and day out.   Sacrifice to Him today by praising His name in the midst of the storm.