And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. (I Samuel 2:21)
Over and over, we see stories of barren women in the Bible. One of those women was Hannah. Hannah longs to have a child, but she can’t have any. And to make matters worse, her husband’s other wife, Peninnah was constantly provoking her. Isn’t that just like humanity?
Peninnah treated Hannah poorly because she knew their husband loved Hannah more, even though she was the one blessed with children! We can just imagine the ugly words she said to Hannah. The Bible says it was so bad that Hannah “wept and would not eat” (see I Samuel 1:7).
On one such occasion, Hannah prayed to God to remember her in her misery. Through tears, she vowed to dedicate her son to the Lord if only He would open her womb. She was moving her mouth, but praying in her heart when Eli the priest saw her and accused her of being drunk.
In the midst of crisis, we may be falsely accused of things, but if we can keep our faith in God through that fire, we will come away even stronger. God can use that crisis to bring us a miracle! He did it for Hannah, and He will do it for us.
Hannah assures Eli she is not drunk, merely distraught over being childless. So, Eli sends her home with a blessing and soon she becomes pregnant with Samuel, which means “I asked the Lord for him” (see v. 20).
If I had waited for a long time to have a baby of my own in my arms, I might have been tempted to regret my promise to give God my son. But Hannah follows through with per promise and the Lord blesses her with five more children. When we give to God, He blesses us back in multiple ways!
Jesus, I declare that what I give to You, You return to me in multiples. Help me to stay strong in crisis so that I can see the miracles waiting for me on the other side!
