Seeking God’s Face – God Will Not Forget You
Go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:10 (NLT)
Just over 3000 years ago in a town called Shiloh, a scene unfolds. This scene in the temple of Shiloh will not only shape events over the ensuing 58 years but also echo through the centuries. We find Hannah, one of Elkanah’s wives, weeping bitterly as she prays to the Lord. She is in such deep anguish that she is unable to utter any words out loud. All she can muster is to whisper words of despair to the Lord. Her whispers are pleas for the Lord to hear her and not forget her, His humble servant. Not to forget the desire of her heart for her barren womb to bear fruit. As she prays, she makes a vow, as an act of faith in her miracle-working God who is able to intervene and answer her desperate pleas. She promises to dedicate the child to the Lord to serve Him all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:10-11). The following year, Samuel is born. Samuel would become a prophet to Israel and be used mightily by God.
Surrender Your Blessing
There are times in our lives when we are in such deep pain and anguish that it can either lead us to our knees. Or it can lead us down a lonely road of bitterness towards others and even God. This road will only lead us further into despair, loneliness and hopelessness. It will cause us to find answers in places that God has not intended for us. The choice is ours. When we, like Hannah, trust God with our emotional turmoil, he will give us hope. This hope gave her the confidence to keep coming back to God with her desperate pleas. To continue to place her faith in the Lord of Heaven’s armies. Her confidence was not based on empty narratives. She had heard stories of her God who had performed miracles for her people before, and she was sure He would do it again - for her.
Hannah was an ordinary person, like you and I. What God did for Hannah, He can do for us. God, in His love and compassion, will not forget us. Nor His promises to us. God answered her prayer so that it would fit into His plans for Israel then and for the world we live in now.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Isaiah 49:15-16a (NKJV)
Hannah honoured God by surrendering Samuel, her blessing, to Him. When God blesses us, we can honour Him by surrendering it to Him so that it will fit into His plans for our lives and for generations to come.
The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. Charles Spurgeon
Reflection:
Will you trust God to answer your anguished pleas so that it will fit into His plans?
Prayer:
Lord, You see my anguished heart. Hear my prayers. I trust You to answer them in Your time and in Your way so that they fit into Your plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.
