THE SURRENDERED HANNAH
“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.” (1 Samuel 1:10 NIV)
Deep anguish is something each of us must have felt at one time or another – that place where even tears do not give you any form of relief. That’s where Hannah was. She cried, and she prayed. I can only imagine what Eli the priest thought when he saw this woman on her knees, lips moving silently and tears flowing down her face. No wonder he thought she was drunk! But she wasn’t. She was pouring her heart out to the Lord.
Then she did something else.
She made a vow.
“And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11 NIV)
She promised to surrender her son to the Lord.
The son she had waited for and prayed for year after year.
She was ready to give him to the Lord.
Wow. After everything she had been through! The pain, ridicule, and shame!
It however struck me that Hannah had reached a point where she knew that the only person who could answer her prayer was God and that her life was in His hands. This prayer was one of total surrender. Hannah was ready for whatever the Lord would decide to do in her life. It was okay if she didn’t get a son. She was ready to accept God’s will. But if she did get a son, she would be thankful and give him back to the Lord!
In her brokenness, Hannah was ready to give her most desired possession back to the Lord.
This got me thinking – how do we react to brokenness? Does it drive us to the Lord, or further away from Him? Ideally, brokenness should direct us back to the Lord, but honestly speaking, that is where many of us toss our hands in the air and say, “I am done with you, Lord!”
Hannah didn’t do that. She held on to the Lord and was ready to obey whatever He told her to do, even though she was so broken.
I have been in situations where I am broken to the core but the Lord still desires that I minister to others. Many times my phone rings and I wonder if I have the strength to deal with whatever issues will arise from that phone call. Other times I look at messages and wonder how to respond. You see, at the point of brokenness, one is empty and weak, with nothing inside to give.
That is where surrender comes in. Hannah was empty but still had the strength to hand everything over to God. God always steps in at the place of surrender, the point where we acknowledge that we can do nothing without Him and come to terms with the fact that we are nothing without Him.
Are you broken today? Are you holding on to pain and bitterness? Are you angry with God for what He is putting you through? Surrender to Him. Give Him that pain, anguish, disappointment, and hurt. Let Him carry, support, and strengthen you. Let Him fill you with Himself. Hand over the things that you hold dear to Him and let Him be Lord of your life.
“So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” 1 Samuel 1:20 (NIV)
Let your brokenness lead to surrender.