Monday, January 13, 2020

“Pouring Out My Troubles” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)


“Pouring Out My Troubles” by Melanie Rigney


As she remained long at prayer before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth, for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking her drunk, said to her, “How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!” “It isn’t that, my lord,” Hannah answered. “I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD. Do not think your handmaid a ne’er-do-well; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.” Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” (1 Samuel 1:14-17)

My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior. (1 Samuel 2:1)

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him, and with a loud cry came out of him. (Mark 1:25-26)

Piety
Father, I feel I am of little value to the world. Help me to embrace Your eternal love.

Study
We all have moments where we feel “less than:” less than a family member, a friend, a colleague, maybe even an enemy. Often, we’re wrong and recover our equilibrium after we stop think about our emotions… or perhaps we pray, or maybe we come up with a juicy rationalization to power us past our feelings of inadequacy.

But in Hannah’s case, she didn’t just feel “less than.” While her husband loved her very much and was kind to her, his other wife was not. The other wife, it seems, delighted in provoking Hannah, taunting Hannah about Hannah’s barrenness and the other woman’s fruitfulness.

We meet Hannah today after one such challenging encounter during the family’s annual pilgrimage. She went to the temple to pray—and to offer a bargain. If the Lord were to give her a son, she would turn him over to the Lord. It’s easy to imagine the depth of her pain and sorrow, especially at that moment. She had just left a dinner where she had had to smile and seem happy, even though it likely had followed one of those taunting sessions by the other wife. Only God could understand her situation—and, she knew, only God could change it.

And change it, He would—with the birth of Samuel.

We live in a time where we can so easily share our sorrows with the world and look for those supportive (and okay, yes, sometimes taunting) comments and emoticons. Those interactions can help us with a reset or affirm our less-than-ness for a moment. But no one else can understand our situation—and only God can change it. Hannah’s story is a good reminder that we can not find the Great Healer on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. He wants to hear it all, and no often how often He hears it, He listens and offers comfort.

Action
Pour out your troubles in prayer.

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