Ancient Word Wednesday

Godly mommy #2: Hannah

This one is going to come in several installments. Hannah was a pretty amazing lady and full of lessons.

For this installment I want to take a step back from her story in 1 Samuel 1 and 2 to one of the things I learned at the end of my study of Hannah. It's easy to get caught up in the details of her life - she was the more beloved of two wives but she was barren. The other wife provoked her mercilessly for her childlessness. And then one day God answered her prayer for a son, who she raised for two or three years before she fulfilled her vow by devoting him to serve the Lord in the tabernacle. Believe me, I learned plenty from the details, but one thing stands out - Hannah's life was not about her.

Wide-angle lens - Hannah lived during the time of the judges in Israel. Judges 21:25 ends that book with the simple statement, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." In other words, the Israelites were disobedient and did not love God with all that they were as they were commanded in Deuteronomy 6. This included the priests at the tabernacle. Eli, the high priest, was a decent guy, but his two sons were evil. 1 Samuel 2:12 says they were corrupt and "they did not know the Lord." They cheated the people and did horrible things. So even those who were supposed to lead the people in worship of the Almighty God did what was right in their own eyes.

But God had perfect timing in all of this. He knew just the right time to bring baby Samuel on the scene, even if it meant that Hannah struggled with barrenness for years (He had a reason for that too!). He had a perfect plan to use Samuel mightily to bring the people back to true worship of Him.

Lesson #1 from Hannah - It is not all about me.

I've not struggled with barrenness, but I have known the pain of losing a baby early in pregnancy and the fear of losing IB with complications early on. One thing the Lord taught me through both of those experiences is that it is not all about me. I am simply apart of His greater, bigger, more glorious plan. One thing that underscored this was learning that my mother-in-law lost a baby between Randy and his older brother. If she had not lost that baby, Randy would not be here to be my wonderful dear husband. (I feel a little like Back to the Future here.) It made me wonder about the plans that God has for IB's life, about the wife he will marry, and the things God has for him to do. No, it's not all about me. It's not even about Randy or IB. It's about God. It's about His glorious, sovereign plan. He does according to His good pleasure, and His plan is perfect...even when it doesn't feel that way.