Before you begin this study, I hope that above every person or possession, my prayer is that you would simply desire God. Then peace and joy will follow you, even in the dark. And our Savior will be magnified.
One thing I have desired…to walk with God my Savior. (Based on Psalm 27:4)
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 (WEB)
Deferred hopes. We all have them. Those are the hopes that we wake up thinking about. What can I do today to fulfill my greatest longing?
For some, they can relate to Hannah, a woman in our devotion today, whose greatest desire was to cradle her own newborn baby in her arms. Yet years would pass before this longing would be fulfilled.
Many women know this emptiness. That is such a deep, agonizing struggle. Keep reading to learn about Hannah’s faith, her prayer life, and her trust that God can do all things.
But most importantly, learn that even when God does not answer the way you wish, He is so good and so sufficient. If you treasure your walk with Him, even the hard questions won’t rob your sense of peace.
Here are just a few facts to help get us to the main part of the story.
- Hannah’s husband was Elkanah.
- Though a polygamist, like many Hebrew men, Elkanah loved God.
- Peninnah was Elkanah’s second wife.
- Peninnah had several sons and daughters
- Peninnah made Hannah’s life miserable because of her childlessness.
- Hannah was Elkanah’s favorite wife. In fact, he truly loved her.
When we join Hannah’s story, we learn that years have passed since her longing to have a baby first began.
When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.
Her rival, moreover, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so, she wept and would not eat.
Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh.
Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk.
Then Eli said to her, “How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!”
But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your bondservant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”
Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of Him.” She said, “Let your bondservant find favor in your sight.” So, the woman went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
Deferred hope. How do we deal with it? Well, our study in Proverbs has already given us so many straightforward answers to dealing with life in a wise and Godly way.
Hannah loved and worshipped God. She was faithful. 1 Samuel 1:7 & 11 (NASB)
Hannah sought out a Godly man who gave her words of wisdom. She prayed. And she quit crying about it. She trusted God, and I believe that Hannah was prepared to accept a “no” answer. But she trusted. She kept living her life. She always praised God. 1 Samuel 12-18 (NASB)
Then God blessed her with a son, Samuel.
Hannah and Elkanah honored the promise made to God. They gave their baby son to the service of the Lord after he was weaned.
If you do a Bible study of 1 and 2 Samuel, you will see that Hannah’s hope deferred was indeed “a longing fulfilled and a tree of life.”
How blessed Hannah was. Her heart overflowed with love and adoration in her prayer found in 1 Samuel 2. I hope you will read it.
Read the rest of Proverbs 13, the basis for our study in the series, “Who is Wise?”
And share the Gospel in your world!
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 