This world is chaotic. Polarized politics, gender identity issues, increasing mental health issues, natural disasters, ongoing war in the Middle East, internet misinformation, toxic chemicals in our food…. You name it, there are lots of things to be anxious and panicky about. I’ve heard more and more people say, “There’s no way I would bring a child into this world!”
It is a terrifying thing if the focus of your attention is on all of the outside pressures.
I am a mother of a “medically-complex” child who has limited communication. The idea of my child being cared for by someone who would have malicious intentions is mentally paralyzing. At her birth, when we learned of the earliest challenges, my first thought (clearly not from God) was that I would punch anyone in the face that teased her about her assistive device. A parent’s protective instinct doesn’t take long to become less-than-rational.
In the first chapters of 1 Samuel, we read the story of a woman named Hannah who was barren. In ancient Israel, a woman’s worth was largely determined by her ability to have children, particularly boys. It was an agrarian culture which meant families needed children to help with the farm. Additionally, the family’s “place marker” in the tribe was held by male children. Although her husband loved Hannah dearly, nothing could replace her deep desire to have children. During their yearly trip to worship in Shiloh, Hannah poured out her soul to God. She begged for a child and promised God that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to the service of the Lord.
She prayed with such intensity that the priest, Eli, initially assumed that she was drunk.
God answered Hannah’s prayer and she gave birth to a son whom she named Samuel. When he was weaned, Hannah and Samuel traveled to the temple in Shiloh to fulfill her part of the promise. There, she dedicated him to the service of God under Eli.
This story seems straightforward enough. But consider the following facts which must have caused great fear when she turned her precious son over to the care of Eli. This priest had two sons who were “serving in the temple” in an incredibly corrupt manner. They were stealing from those who came to sacrifice and promoting and participating in sexual promiscuity with those who were coming to worship. They were defiling God while pretending to be the priests of God. They hid behind God’s promise to Aaron of his family being priests forever. (Exodus 29:9) Their corruption was known even to Eli, yet he did not intervene.
In my head, this would have been Hannah’s out. After all, she CLEARLY had demonstrated more parental respect for God than Eli had. Hannah could just tell God that Eli wasn’t even able to care for his own children and it wasn’t a good environment for her young and impressionable son. She could march back home with a clear conscience, because she knew best about what “world” her child should grow up in, right???
That’s exactly my default thought process as a parent. Protect, protect, protect from early perversion and let your children maintain their innocence! I wouldn’t have blamed Hannah one bit for not carrying out her side of the bargain.
But that is where Hannah’s faith shines and mine struggles.
Ya’ll, we serve a God who is much bigger than our circumstances. We serve a God who is bigger than any political crisis. We serve a God who is bigger than the physical and mental failings of our bodies. Isaiah 55:8-9 reads:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Hannah recognized that the safest place for her son to grow up was in the center of God’s will, not in the center of her will.
Hannah promised God she would dedicate Samuel to God and that is exactly what she did. Don’t think for a moment that Samuel wasn’t exposed to some raunchy stuff early on because even though Eli’s sons were taken out pretty quickly after he arrived, they were around for a while. We aren’t told if Hannah struggled with her decision, but I like to think that it was a no-brainer. Her faith was something she practiced and exercised daily, so when the time came to put it to the test, she was prepared. Not even the parental “protective instinct” could slow down her determination to serve and obey God.
Hannah dedicated Samuel to God. As a result of her trust in God, Samuel grew up to be an incredibly gifted prophet and anointed the first two kings of Israel. He was the pivotal spiritual leader who helped turn the nation of Israel back to God. Hannah’s relationship with God and her resolve to honor her promise, positively affected the lives of an entire nation through the life of her precious son.
Today, this is a reminder that whatever loud voices of doom and gloom are in your life: God is bigger.
God is bigger than any politician; He is bigger than an illness; He is bigger than a financial mess; and He is bigger than a natural disaster. No matter what terrible circumstances you or your loved ones are facing, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. We don’t have to carry the load of worry or live with fear of the future. When you are born again and become a child of God, you become part of His family and you can cast your burdens on Him.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalms 55:22
