Hey friends, how are you today? How was your week? It has been pouring rain all morning with a healthy bit of thunder and lightning.  It’s a beautiful day in my neck of the woods.  The birds are doing their very best to drown out the sound of the rain.  I enjoy them both.  How great is our God.  How awesome is His majesty and strength.  How is your day?

How do you react to impossible situations? Do you retreat or do you advance? Do you seek shelter in the arms of the Lord? Do you hide until it’s safe to come out? Or perhaps you try to fix the problem on your own? Or do you give the Lord a set time to fix the issue? Do you cry and moan and sink in depression with the belief that this impossible situation cannot be resolved? 

Lately I have enjoyed my time with the Hannah of I Samuel 1, 2.  Oh! How I want to be a Hannah!  She was absolutely beautiful.  I loved her faith and her courage to believe for the impossible.  I loved her meekness and her humility.  I want to epitomize this woman.   How much faith does it take to ask the Lord for the impossible? How must one approach His throne to ask for the impossible? 

Have you ever wanted something so desperately that you’re afraid to ask for it? Because the answer matters too much? 

I wonder how much faith Hannah had to have to ask for so much. We know she was distressed.   Her own husband was unable to help her in this regard.  His love for her was unfortunately not the answer to her prayers.   She needed Someone more powerful to meet her needs.  Fortunately for her, she knew His Name.  

What prevents me from asking for my impossible? Can it be because I fear the answer, I may receive? But what if it’s no? Will that be so bad? Do I care more for the gift rather than the Giver? Is the ‘giving’ more valuable? Perhaps fear is my nemesis.  I don’t want to admit that I am in need of something. That there is something I cannot ‘gift’ to myself.  Perhaps it means I have to give up my pseudo control.  What will be the cost of such faith? 

She could not have children, she was barren, but she most certainly wanted a child.  Her husband’s second wife did not suffer the same malady. Verse 6 of I Samuel says, “And her rival (Peninnah) used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb”.  

Hannah was desperate.  She tells Eli, the priest, 1 Samuel 1:16 “Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”

“Out of my complaint and grief” the KJV says.  I’ve been there, Hannah.  I know that anxiety and vexation of spirit.  I can certainly identify with you.

We’ve been praying to the Lord for an ‘open door” in our family.  For years we’ve prayed. For years the Lord remains silent.  The Lord has not kept anything from us in spite of this thorn.   He continues to supply our every need day after day. Except for this one thing.  Our prayers wane, then reign again, wane and reign.  It all depends on the circumstances at the time.  The Lord remains faithful throughout the waning and reigning.  

I love Hannah’s story.  Do you know what she did? She promised to give this child back to the Lord if He answered her prayer.   Give him back! She was desperate for him.  She was anxious for him.  But throughout all the anxiety and grief, her desire was to glorify God.  

The Lord answered her prayer.  And she did exactly that! After she weaned her son, Samuel, she brought him to the temple of God.  And left him there.  He was maybe three or four years old.   The child she prayed desperately for; she gave him up.  Wow! 

Do you think that’s the key? Surrender.   Is that what the Lord wants from me? Does He want me to surrender my ‘need’?  James tells us this:

I’m sure it was not easy for Hannah.  There was no guarantee that she would have more children.   It took strength for her to give Samuel back to the Lord.   But she did it anyway.  She knew that children were a gift and a blessing from the Lord. And she treated Samuel as such.  He was God’s gift to her.   She acknowledged and then surrendered that very gift back to our Lord.  

I admire that courage and strength in Hannah.  She gave Samuel up and then prayed with joy in the giving.  Can you imagine that scene? I think she also left a piece of heart at the temple.  What mother wouldn’t.   The second chapter of I Samuel begins with Hannah’s joyful prayer, 1 Samuel 2:1

Our God allows the ‘impossibles’ in our lives for our good.  It keeps us at the feet of Jesus.   Because this situation can only be resolved in God’s time, He strengthens us. Through it all, He displays His faithfulness to us.  He gives new grace and mercy to us every morning.  He continues to supply our every need.  Our God isn’t a genie.   We do not get three wishes with the rubbing of the lamp.  I am thankful for that.  Three wishes wouldn’t be nearly enough, and I’d try to get more.  He is God. He knows what we need, when we need it. 

Though I may want to languish in defeat, He sends people whose needs far surpass mine.  He says, “see them, Brenda.”  He sends the beauty of His creation and He says, “look up, Brenda”.  He sends the fellowship of His people and He says, “love them Brenda”.  He answers prayers and He says, “be thankful, Brenda”.  

My only response is “Thy will be done”.   How do you handle impossible situations? Especially after a few years of waiting? How do you wait?