“And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:26-28)
The great judge of Israel, Samuel, was born during a time of spiritual darkness and sterility in Israel. He was born to a woman named Hannah who had been childless. In ancient Israel, such barrenness was considered a curse or punishment from God and poor Hannah must have felt crushed by such a verdict. In her despair, she poured out her heart to Yahweh with such ardent passion and fervent vigor that the High Priest Eli assumed she was drunk. This is probably because he was almost as spiritually dead as was Israel. Yet the Lord was touched by Hannah’s sincerity and granted her request for a child.
Have you ever taken your feelings of frustration and helplessness to the Lord? When life gets difficult and things don’t go the way we would like or think fair, many people descend into bitterness, anger, and rudeness. Such feelings often cause people to reject the power and compassion of the Lord, to deny even His existence. Not so with Hannah. Though she may have felt hurt and bitter, those feelings drove her to the Lord. She had faith. God fulfilled His promise and because He did, Hannah pledged her son to the Lord’s service.
Nothing fills the heart with great joy and comfort more than the supernatural assurance of God’s promises not yet fulfilled. That is the essence of faith: believing the promises of God will certainly come to fruition even though present circumstances say otherwise. Hannah had that faith and so do we.