Selfless love. Thankful to God. Humble service. Sharing your faith. These are all aspects of godly character. This blog series examines what Scripture tells us about four godly women—and shares encouragement for Christian mothers today. While the encouragement found in these blog posts is aimed specifically at mothers, there are applicable truths for all Christians as well.
[This blog post is the second in a four-part series. You can read the first here.]
The beginning of Hannah’s story in Scripture breaks my heart.
It starts with sorrow, conflict, and bitter turmoil. The inspired writer of 1 Samuel wastes no time in setting the scene.
A man named Elkanah was married to two women: Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Jealous of the fact that Elkanah loved Hannah, Peninnah would mercilessly torment Hannah with the fact that she had no children. This psychological and verbal abuse went on year after year in a vicious cycle. It’d get so bad that Hannah would weep and be unable to eat.
To make matters worse, Elkanah didn’t seem to understand why his wife was so upset. “Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8). Perhaps those words were meant to be comforting, but I can’t imagine they were.
How could Elkanah possibly understand the bitter anguish Hannah was experiencing? He already had children . . . with the very woman making Hannah’s life a living hell.
But these verses from 1 Samuel do more than highlight some of the messy, terrible consequences of sin’s influence on God’s once-perfect institution of marriage. They also show a deeply distressed woman who poured her heart and soul out to God, who understood her bitter anguish and had a plan to do something about her pain. Hannah cast her anxieties on him because she knew that he cared for her.
Dear Christian, be cautious about making too many applications from Hannah’s account to life today. The last thing we’d want to do with how God responded to Hannah’s prayer (asking him for a child when she’d been waiting for so long) is point to that beautiful response and say, “See? God answers prayers. Hannah asked for a child, and he gave her a son, so pray unceasingly!”
Such encouragement might be meant as comfort . . . but it might also lead to more heartbreak and sorrow. Yes, God hears and answers all of our prayers. Absolutely. But he does so according to his will and in the time and manner as he sees fit.
God didn’t have to give Hannah a child. (Nor did he have to give her three more sons and two daughters—which he later did!) God didn’t owe her any more than he owes anyone else. Hannah’s son Samuel was an undeserved gift from God—as are all children.
As a godly mother, Hannah recognized that. In speaking of Samuel, she said, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:27-28).
Dear Christian mother, what’s the encouragement here?
Continue to see your children as the gifts they are from the God who loves you—and them—so much that he gave his one and only Son to save you from all your sins. Continue to give thanks to God for your children in your prayers. Love them and encourage them to give their whole lives in service to God, living each day in thankful praise to him for all Jesus has done.
Looking for further encouragement, Mom? My 180: Waiting on God More encourages you to learn from practical, spiritual advice and see how God blesses you as you intentionally seek to live a life of waiting on and trusting in God and his timing. As you read this book, you’ll be reminded of the awesome work God constantly does for you, and you’ll be challenged to find joy in God’s timing for your life.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.