At the beginning of 1 Samuel, Elkanah’s wife, Hannah, was brokenhearted. She wanted kids but was barren. To make matters worse Peninnah (who was also Elkanah’s wife) had kids and “provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb” (1 Sam. 1:6). Moreover, Elkanah’s attempt to comfort Hannah was ignorant, uncaring and full of foolish pride. He said to Hannah, “Why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (1 Sam. 1:8). Talk about a loser husband moment.
Then 1 Samuel 1:10 describes one of the saddest, yet all too relatable scenes of life, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.” Do you remember a time when you were heartbroken, attacked and all your comforters were clueless? Have you wept before the Lord? Have you been stuck in such a dark place that a genuine vibrant smile was an impossible? Maybe that’s where you are today. That’s where Hannah was.
But that’s not where Hannah stayed. Several years later Hannah prayed, “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation” (1 Sam. 2:1). What happened? Did Hannah pick herself up, take control of her circumstances and generate her own joy? No. As 1 Samuel 1:19 says, “the Lord remembered her.” That does not mean that the Lord forgot her. It means that the Lord heard her prayer, and when the perfect time came to answer that prayer, He did not miss it. He remembered her and gave her joyous victory.
Today or tomorrow, you may find yourself in Hannah’s anguish. But if you are a child of God, take heart. Like God did not leave Hannah in her misery, He will not leave you there. As Hebrews 13:5 says, He “will never leave you or forsake you.” So today, call out to God and know that He will remember you. At the perfect time, in the perfect way He will put a genuine vibrant smile on your heart and face before your enemies.
Today, if you have not repented and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then please hear me. You are not a child of God and ,as of right now, you have no reason to take heart in your anguish. You are rejecting the Son of God. Thus you are an enemy of God. You stand condemned before God and one day you will pay the ultimate price for it. You will be thrown into the lake of fire. But today, all that can change! Today, if you repent and trust in Jesus Christ, the work of Jesus on the cross will pay for all your sins and you will be made right with God. You will become his child And from that moment forward you will have the God of Hannah to cry out to. You will have the God who will not leave or forsake you, but always remember you. Repent and trust in Jesus Christ, now! Do not wait a second longer.
