Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 1:27 – 2:21; Psalm 71

THE LORD HAS MADE ME STRONG.

“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.

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.” – 1 Samuel 1:27–2:2

Hannah prayed for a larger sacrifice and God answered her prayer. After giving her son to the Lord, Hannah worshiped God and she was filled with joy — a much different emotion for Hannah than the bitter anguish she had experienced before God answered her prayer. After making what had to have been a difficult sacrifice for a mother, God was faithful to give Hannah joy in place of her sacrifice. Her faith was strengthened and she was confident that the Lord, the Rock, was the source of that strength.

THE LORD GIVES US STRENGTH FOR WHATEVER SACRIFICE HE IS ASKING US TO MAKE.

…Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest. Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. – 1 Sam. 2:18-19

In 2011, my dear friend, Dave Brown, gave me this passage of Scripture as we were grieving the loss of one ministry and preparing for the next. He pointed out that the coat Hannah brought Samuel each year must have been too big for him in order for him to be able to grow into it by the end of the year. As soon as the coat fit, she’d give him a new one.

Sometimes God gives us a new coat — a bigger coat. The price of our faithfulness to what God has given us is that sometimes He takes that away and gives us something new that requires that same faithfulness. He moves us out of our comfortable, broken-in coat into a new unfamiliar coat.

In 2021, our family again experienced the mixed emotions of having a comfortable coat removed as God placed on our shoulders a new coat — a coat that has taken some time to get used to and that still requires some “growing into.” Perhaps God is trying to place a new coat on you as well — one you are resistant or uncomfortable in. Like Hannah, we can rejoice with confidence that we serve a holy God who is strong like a Rock and gives us strength for whatever sacrifice He is asking us to make.

Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.” And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and three daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. – 1 Samuel 2:20-21

THE LORD CAN DRASTICALLY CHANGE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

Hannah’s life was radically reversed as God blessed her generously. In response, she sang of how her Creator is able to drastically change someone’s circumstances. Hannah sang of God’s protection over His faithful ones, and her song reminds us that NO ONE SUCCEEDS BY THEIR OWN STRENGTH ALONE. God empowers his king and increases the strength of his anointed one (2:9-10). What a great reminder this morning as I drink my morning coffee. While God saw the heart of Hannah, Hannah saw the strength of God.

There are times when we may not feel strong enough for the new coat God has placed on our shoulders, but perhaps it is in these weakest moments that we begin looking up and reaching out to the Lord. He is faithful to lift us out of our despair and set our feet on solid ground; He steadies us as we obediently walk the path He has laid out before us (Psalm 40:2). All we have to do is stop trying to do this on our own and allow God to be our strength.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-11

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
You have done such wonderful things.
Who can compare with you, O God?
You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,
but you will restore me to life again
and lift me up from the depths of the earth.
You will restore me to even greater honor
and comfort me once again. – Psalm 71:19-21