Trusting God With Your Future - Trusting God with the Unexpected

“I’ve been pouring out my heart before the LORD.
Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;
I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”
(1 Samuel 1:15-16, CSB)

Nothing causes me more relational stress than a big misunderstanding. It’s even more complicated when it happens with someone in church or the family. The pain feels all-consuming when it involves someone I deeply care about or am closely connected to. When misunderstandings happen in my life, it’s all I can do not to feel the rage of injustice and desire to defend myself and correct the assumptions of others until the situation is resolved.

Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel is one I’ve often reflected on. Living in an ancient culture that revolved around household economics, land, and inheritance central to survival, Hannah was living in torment because she was unable to have kids, the very blessing she was denied over and over. 1 Samuel 1 tells us that members within the household taunted her, and she was utterly brokenhearted. Rumors and assumptions likely circulated about why she was unable to conceive. Was she cursed? Did she sin? Was the Lord against her?

Now, if this were my story, this is probably the point where I’d have a lot of choice words to say to the other woman. But instead of fighting back, Hannah turned to the Lord for help. And as she visited the temple at Shiloh, she was faced with yet another judgment by the priest Eli who thought she was drunk. And yet, get this – in the midst of her gut-wrenching prayer that no one else could hear, she was in the Lord’s presence (v. 12).

Hannah’s rival taunted her, the religious leader made an assumption about her, and yet she chose to turn to the Lord in the middle of her anguish and resentment, where she ultimately found solace (v. 16). Have you been on the receiving end of someone’s assumptions? Maybe you’ve been ridiculed or judged for something you’ve longed for. God won’t turn you away because of your anguish or appearance.

And, if you’re doubting the goodness of God, let’s remember that our God cannot lie. God Himself tells us that he is faithful. He is patient. He is forgiving and merciful. He is holy. He is gracious and boundless in love! He will not let the guilty go unpunished! (Deuteronomy 4:6-8)

God, not your circumstances or any other human, will have the final say about your fate. The Lord is the one who brings things about – your reputation is secure in His hands. Like Hannah, we too can find refuge in the Lord in the middle of our anguish.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for caring about our worries, for walking with us, and for not turning us away. You are the answer to our deepest heart cries. Amen.