Hannah

By Guest Writer

Do you remember the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”? When I think of the song, it’s comforting—and not just for nostalgia’s sake. To be held by one you trust brings feelings of safety, security, reprieve from worry and grief knowing you aren’t alone. And if God can hold the whole world, surely He can hold me, right?

Reading Hannah’s story has always felt like a strange mix of relief and pain to me. The journey of motherhood is hard, and like so many, I’ve waited to conceive, and I’ve loved babies I was never able to hold. But to be mocked and jeered at by the fertile woman she shared a husband with and then to have her character questioned by the priest, I can’t imagine the weight of her pain while longing to hold her own little one.

Hannah’s story reflects those of other women in Scripture who longed to bear children and who, in their longing, stood on the precipice of God’s great work in the world. Moses’s mom had her son’s life threatened by Pharoah, and then she had to surrender him to be raised as an Egyptian once he was weaned. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all had moms who walked hard roads to have children of their own. John the Baptist’s mom, too, was considered well past child-bearing age when the Lord intervened. God used all of these mothers—Jochebed, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Elizabeth—each in His story. And Hannah, refusing to take matters into her own hands, took her hurt to the Lord, fully trusting Him, “I am a woman with a broken heart…I’ve been pouring out my heart before the LORD” (1Samuel 1:15). She pleaded her case, trusting the Lord and even promising her hoped-for son to His service in return.

Hannah offered her pain to the Lord, and God heard her. Verse 19 says, “the LORD remembered her.” Like other times this phrase shows up in the story, God was preparing to do a new work, fulfilling His promises to His people. Hannah’s son, Samuel, would become the prophet who guided Israel’s transition from the time of the judges to a monarchy, anointing Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David. God took her faithfulness, even in her own immense grief, and He brought her comfort. And when she took her toddler son to live and serve in the tabernacle, she rejoiced in the Lord. More than delighting in her son or even her elevated station after having him, she found her delight in God. Chapter 2 records her song, expressing her deep gratitude for God’s sure and steady character, His unparalleled power, and His sovereignty over all creation—showing us through her faith that He indeed has the world in His hands.

Written by Becca Owens