Hannah prayed: I’m bursting with God-news! I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation.  Nothing and no one is holy like God, no rock mountain like our God. Don’t dare talk pretentiously—not a word of boasting, ever! For God knows what’s going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens.The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft.  God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives—a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God’s; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle!  God’s enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he’ll give strength to his king, he’ll set his anointed on top of the world! 1 Samuel 2:1-10 MSG

This was the praise that Hannah gave the Lord when she took young Samuel to reside in the house of the Lord, keeping her vow.  I think as a mom I can glean a whole lot from this praise/prayer she offered up. She simply remembered the faithfulness of God and reminded Him of what she knew.

Daniel 11:32 says; Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Hannah knew God! She was strong to keep her promise to Him and because of her sacrifice, carried out great exploits through the prophet Samuel. I believe God knew this about her even before she did. There are times that the very things with-held from us are the things that drive us deeper to know the God who keeps His promises.

Every year when her husband went to the temple to offer sacrifices, she was persecuted by the rival child-bearing wife which drove her to the temple to pray. It was in the quiet time before the Lord that she became aquatinted with Him. She could not withhold her vow from the God who saw, who heard and who delivered.

We can allow the adversity we face to drive us toward God or away from God, but the best choice is going toward Him. To focus on the goodness of Him rather then the adversity that surrounds us. To understand that what we yield to Him will only come back stronger and better in the end and have lasting benefit to others.

My dear remnant friend, you may be facing a mountain that looks too big to climb, the God in you is bigger then that mountain. You may be weighed down with burdens too big for you to carry, but the God in you wants to carry those for you. You were never meant to do life alone, the God in you wants you to come up higher, know Him better, lean on Him heavier, trust Him deeper. He wants you to see things from His perspective, not your own.

Father, here I am praising You in the midst of my mess.  I know that when it’s all done, it will be just as beautiful as You saw it. I don’t need to be alive to see it, I’ve already seen it when you showed it to me. I trust in You and You alone. It’s all for Your glory in Jesus’ name, Amen.