Tuesday, July 1st, 2025
I love the raw honesty of the first chapter of the book of 1 Samuel. You can feel almost every emotion that Hannah experienced as she was provoked for not being able to bear children, her lamenting over her own barren womb and her desperate prayers to God. As I was reading this passage recently I was drawn to all the different emotions she experienced. I think sometimes we think emotions are a sign of weakness or a sign that we don’t trust God. In reality, I am discovering that our emotions actually have the potential to help us heal.
Now it’s possible that if we let our emotions rule the roost they could become an idol. On the other hand, if we try to constantly stuff our emotions down, this too will plant unhealthy roots. There must be a healthy balance between acknowledging our emotions, allowing God to show us what has triggered them and then using this wisdom to pray more fervently and effectively.
I just want to pull out a few verses from this chapter that stood out to me. 1 Samuel 1:10, 15, 16, and 18:
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.
15 …I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I…have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 …out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.
18 …So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
We see bitterness, sorrow, complaint and grief. She isn’t allowing these things to take over her flesh. She is using them to pour out her soul before the Lord. She isn’t looking for comfort from the things of this world. She is recognizing that in the midst of these things she needs to cry out to her God. She knows that He is the only one that can help her navigate all she is feeling and desiring. After this deep place of lamenting and being open before the Lord we see that she went away, ate and was no longer sad. In the next few verses, we see that Hannah’s prayers were answered.
Final Thoughts…
Hannah’s emotions were a sweet-smelling offering unto the Lord. Her willingness to lay her state bare before Him pleased Him and He granted her heart’s desire. Our God is a compassionate God. Webster’s 1828 defines compassionate as: inclined to show mercy; having a heart that is tender, and easily moved by the distresses, sufferings, wants and infirmities of others. Cry out to God with your desires, your sufferings and everything in between. What happened after Jesus cried over His dead friend Lazarus? What if He turns your tears into a freedom key? What if that next tear tips the blessing bowls of heaven? What if that stream down your face opens a new well?