Everything

Hannah’s story is a powerful one.  She trusted God when she could not have a child.  Yes, she cried out to The LORD in anguish because she so desperately wanted a child.  Remember, though, that she cried out to The LORD.  She did not fight The LORD.  She did not walk away from The LORD.  She did not try to get others to walk away from The LORD.  She went to The LORD with her deepest heart’s desire.  Then, she trusted The LORD.

Later, when The LORD gave her a son, she raised the boy until he could be weaned.  She held to her commitment to The LORD.  She named the boy to remind herself, “I asked the LORD for him.”  She did not cut Samuel’s hair.  She did not let him have any wine (or grape juice).  She held to the Nazarite vow she had made for him.  And, when the time came, she took her son – her only son – and presented him to The LORD at the tabernacle.  She entrusted her child to The LORD.

Hannah trusted The LORD with everything.  What makes me say that?  Look at her prayer after taking Samuel to the tabernacle to be raised by the priests:

Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the LORD! The LORD has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because You rescued me. No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God. "Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don't speak with such arrogance! For the LORD is a God who knows what You have done; He will judge your actions. The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong. Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away. The LORD gives both death and life; He brings some down to the grave but raises others up. The LORD makes some poor and others rich; He brings some down and lifts others up. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the LORD's, and He has set the world in order. "He will protect His faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. Those who fight against the LORD will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the LORD judges throughout the earth..." (1 Samuel 2:1-10a NLT)

How about you?  Do you trust The LORD with everything?

We Need to Trust our King

Hannah cried out to the LORD for a son and God said, “Yes.”  When she asked God for the son, she also made a promise: “You give me a son and I will give him back to you – dedicated to you for his whole life.”  Now, the question is this: “Will Hannah keep her promise to God?”

The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the LORD permanently. [I will offer him as a Nazirite for all time.]" "Whatever you think is best," Elkanah agreed. "Stay here for now, and may the LORD help you keep your promise." So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. (1 Samuel 1:21-23 NLT)

The story leads us to wonder whether she will follow-through or not.  Going to the Tabernacle is an annual family thing for them.  Granted, her child is not more than 3 months old at this time.  Travel would not be fun.  Could there be more to it though?  Could it be that Hannah doesn’t want to face God, talk to God’s representative (the priest), or be reminded of her promise.  She told God that she would bring her son and turn him over to God for his whole life.  Now that she holds her baby boy in her arms, that part of the prayer seems harder and harder to live with.  So, she doesn’t go.  What happens next?

When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. "Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked. "I am the woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and He has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there. (1 Samuel 1:24-28 NLT)

Whether Hannah struggled or not, we do not know.  The battles in her mind may never be made known to us.  We may never hear the private conversations she had with her husband about this decision.  What we do know, however, is that she was faithful.  She kept her promise.  She trusted God as her King.

How about you?  Do you fight the battles in your mind so you will be faithful to God, keep your promises, and trust God as your King?

YHWH is King

This world can be cruel.  Hannah learned this the hard way.  She needed to go no further than her own home to experience the cruelty of the world.  Peninnah would regularly taunt Hannah and bring her to tears.

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. And she made this vow: "O LORD of Heaven's Armies, if You will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to You. He will be Yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut..."  (1 Samuel 1:9-11 NLT)

Hannah tries to make a deal with God here.  She makes a promise to God: You give me a son and I will give him back to You.  This promise may seem like an act of desperation and, to a certain extent, it may be.  But her actions later seem to show us something a little bit more than a desperate person.  It shows a faithful person.  It shows a trusting person.  It shows a person who really lives with God as her King.

How about you?  Do you live with God as your King?  Would the people around you say the same thing?  Do they see that God is your King?

This World Can Be Cruel

Yesterday, we started to look down the road a little to consider where God may be taking us in 2017.  The theme for the year will be the title of our current series: Your Kingdom Come.  I came to the conclusion a long time ago that God is the answer to all the world’s problems.  That is why it is so important that we live out God’s Kingdom here on earth just as it is in heaven.

There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. (1 Samuel 1:1-2 NLT)

This world can be cruel.  People regularly treat one another poorly.  That’s why it is so important that God’s Church live with God as King.  When we allow God’s Kingdom to come here on earth, we create a safe environment for people to Encounter God, work through their doubts to Make their faith Real, and then Live Out a stronger and stronger walk together with God.  The Church may be the only place where they experience unconditional love.  The Church may be the only place where they feel safe.  The Church may be the only place where they know they can draw near to God.  This is why God’s Church must be a place where God’s Kingdom comes and God’s Will is being done.

So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children. Year after year it was the same--Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. (1 Samuel 1:6-7 NLT)

Hannah understood this all too well.  She couldn’t even go home without experiencing a cruel world.  Her home would drive her to tears.  Her home would give her so much anxiety that she could not eat.  She did not experience peace at home.  She needed God’s Kingdom to come somewhere here on earth as it is in heaven.

How about you?  Do you experience a cruel world anywhere in your life?  Do you experience God’s Kingdom anywhere in your life?  Where do you feel safe, loved, and close to God?

Your Kingdom Come

Last summer, we covered the span of the Torah (Pentateuch) when we walked through the first five books of the Bible.  After that we wanted to know if the parents were successful in building a strong faith into their children, so we continued on to Joshua.  Next, we watched Israel fall away from God throughout the book of Judges, but held on to hope as we saw the faithfulness of Ruth and Naomi.

In the days of the Judges, we learned that “Israel had no king, so they did whatever they wanted.”  Looking back at this statement, it has become clear that they had a King during that time.  Their King was God.  They just did not acknowledge or follow their King.

As we look and move forward into 2017, we are going to continue through the Old Testament into Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and other related books.  As we do, we are going to remind ourselves that these are not just stories about people who lived thousands of years ago.  These are stories that relate to us still today.  Why?  Because Jesus often talked about the Kingdom of God.  God was not just their King.  God is our King as well.  Remember how Jesus taught us to pray?

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8 ESV)

Notice how what he begins teaching us about prayer.  Prayer is about connection and communication with God.  It’s not about showing off for people so they think you’re all Holy and Righteous.  It’s not about knowing a bunch of the “right words,” so we can convince God to see things our way.  Prayer, Jesus teaches us, is the most authentic when are alone…communicating simply with God.  When we pray, Jesus gives us some priorities to talk about.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10 ESV)

Sometimes, when I pray this prayer, I think about God’s Kingdom coming in the future.  I look forward to the day when Jesus returns, the dead are raised from the grave, we are all given new bodies, and we are caught up into heaven.  I envision a New Heaven and a New Earth as described by the Apostle John.  But when I do that, I don’t think about God’s Kingdom as something that can be present here on earth today.

Jesus teaches us, though, that our prayer is about here today: “on earth as it is in heaven.”  It doesn’t end there.  Since he taught us to pray this prayer alone, without trying to influence others, the prayer is pointed right at us.  In other words, we are praying, “Your Kingdom come and your will be done in me, just as it is in heaven.”

Prayer is not about showing off to others.  Prayer is not even about influencing others.  Nor is prayer is not about convincing God to agree with us.  Prayer is about aligning ourselves with the God who created the heavens and the earth and still holds all things together.  Prayer is about remembering, acknowledging, and allowing God to be King.  God is already the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords.  But when we pray as Jesus taught us, we move our minds, hearts, and lives to the place where God is our Lord and our King.

How about you?  Do you pray in the way Jesus taught us to pray?  Do you start by acknowledging God as your King?  Do you ask God to bring His Kingdom and his Will into your mind, heart and life…just as it is in heaven?