Scripture:
1 Samuel 1:9-11 ESV
[9] After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. [10] She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. [11] And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
[19] They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. [20] And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”
Observation:
Hannah was the laughingstock of the other wife. It was considered a disgrace for women not to be able to conceive a child. I can see this in my mind. The whispers as she walked by. The comments to her about how there is something wrong with her. It was all too much. Her heart was desperate. She just wanted it all to stop. So she did the one thing that she could do. She took her problem to GOD, and why not HE created her. HE would know how to fix this. Making a vow that if HE would give her a child she would in return give him back to the LORD’s service. The LORD heard her cry. HE gave her what she asked for. She named him Samuel. He became a profit for Israel. And in fact, was the profit that anointed both Saul and David as King if I remember correctly.
Application:
GOD wants us to bring our troubled hearts to HIM. HE wants us to know that HE cares. The Bible says that HE is near to the brokenhearted. Honestly, I can’t thank HIM enough for that. So here is what I want you to listen to this morning. GOD hears your cries HE knows what troubles your heart and HE wants you to speak to HIM about it. Give it to HIM. You were not meant to carry it, and if you never offer it to HIM and take your hands off of it HE can’t give it, because your hands are in the way. So let me explain how I have seen this work in my life when I was a 9-year-old boy my dad left. I never saw him again and spent most of my adult life hitchhiking all over looking for him. To no avail. Finding addresses on the Internet for his name. Knocking on doors of people I had never met asking if my dad lived there. All to be let down by another resounding no followed by a slamming door. I moved to Oklahoma 16 years ago. To find myself in a church in a small town pouring my heart out on Father’s Day about how GOD is the only father I have ever known. Releasing that pain to HIM. That day I took my hands off of it. I stopped looking for him. I didn’t need him like I thought I did. A few short months later on my way home from church, I was looking at my messages and there was one that caught my attention. It was simple. “hey Eric are you looking for your dad?… Because I know where to find him”. My reaction was probably close to the same as yours when you just read that. At 38 years old GOD brought my fad back into my life. He died a few weeks later. But the point of my story is this GOD can not fix the things that trouble your heart if you are unwilling to give them to HIM. That means take your hands off. You’re in the way. Hannah took her hands off of her troubled heart and GOD fixed it. If HE did it before HE can do it again.
Prayer:
Father, you are an amazing GOD. You know exactly what we need. I pray that you take what is written in your word and this SOAP and use it to change lives. Help us to surrender ALL. Get our hands out of the way so that you can fix our troubled hearts. We can not do it. I pray for complete surrender for all who read this Whatever has their heart in desperation I pray that they offer it to you and remove their hands from it. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.