Life Lessons: Unbelievable Blessings (Hannah)

Reading: 1 Samuel 2:21

We know that Hannah was a woman who trusted in her Father. We know that she desperately wanted a son and cried out to her Father with her desire. We also know that He answered that prayer. Finally, we know that she upheld her promise of dedicating Samuel to the Lord when he was of age to go live at the temple. 

There was a moment when this was all beyond Hannah’s wildest dreams. Remember, she was so anguished by the emptiness in her heart that as she cried out to the Lord the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. Put yourself in Hannah’s shoes with your biggest desire fulfilled, basking in the joy of the Lord. Your heart is content and you believe you have seen more from the Lord than you deserve. 

THEN, you find out you’re pregnant again and again and again and again and again. The woman who thought she would live her life childless and rejoiced to have A son was blessed with THREE sons and two daughters. Sometimes, God’s plans are so far outside of our imaginings that they may lie beyond our faith. 

I know that in my life, some of the greatest moments of blessing have come from circumstances that I never asked God for because I simply didn’t have the faith to dream that big. I also know that God has had to grow me in seasons of uncomfortableness and waiting to prepare me for what was coming. Does that mean that I always get what my heart desires? Definitely not and for a multitude of reasons. 

Firstly, the heart is deceitful and wicked per Jeremiah 17:9. What I want and what I need is not always the same. In fact, history has taught me that often what I want would be down right disastrous. The Lord loves me too much to let my hissy fits sway His plan. 

Secondly, the Lord knows when I am ready for the next season of my life and I simply do not. When I was a kid I felt ready to take the training wheels off my bike because I was a big kid. My dad complied and I promptly ran into the mailbox, uprooting it and cutting my eye. I thought I knew what it would be like but I was wrong. 

Finally, our Father is a good, good Father. He wants what’s best for us and what brings Him glory. However, that may not look like what we expect and it may not make sense until we see Him face to face. That’s where faith steps in and why we often need seasons of growth to get there. Don’t be afraid to ask for those big dreams but don’t hold so tight to them that you can’t grab hold of God’s bigger plan. 

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank you for the graciousness of Your plan and I’m sorry that so often I let fear and doubt convince me that it isn’t good or worth it. Please give me the patience and wisdom to thrive in my seasons of growth while expectantly waiting for Your plans and answer. Thank you that every answer is wrapped in love even if it hurts.