I am a woman who is deeply troubled… I have been praying out of. my great anguish and grief… I was pouring out my soul to the Lord (1 Samuel 1) The Story: Chapter 10 (1 Samuel 1-15)
1Sa 1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
We can learn so much from Hannah’s situation. Although she was in “bitterness of soul,” she continued to sacrifice to God and to pray to Him. Her prayers were her praises and her tears was the evidence of a heart not closed down due to circumstances. And isn’t this always the danger? When we are hard pressed on every side and our situation seems impossible, what do we do? On the cross Jesus cries out to His Father. Some might say that Jesus cried out “in bitterness of soul.” My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Undoubtedly Hannah felt forsaken by God who had “closed up her womb.” How do we respond? In the depths of our despair how do we respond? Shall we rise up and call out to God and cry “Holy!” Shall we say like Jesus says “into thy hands I commend my spirit?” Hannah poured out her soul to God. She rose above the bitterness. She avoided hardness of heart by drawing close unto God despite her many years of continual disappointment, she was faithful in her offering of sacrifices and her prayers.
In the end brothers and sisters we are called to be holy. We are called to be faithful. We are called to be loving and kind and graceful, even to those who see our situation and take full advantage of it. To those who mock us and spitefully use us, who curse us and falsely accuse us, we are called to good to them, we are called to love our enemies. In doing this we fulfill two primary and fundamental aspects of the narrow walk. We are obedient to the Lord and we guard our hearts. Your heart is ground zero in this battle that we find ourselves in. If the devil take your heart then for him its checkmate. Your heart belongs to God and no matter what situation we find ourselves in, it is the conduit for His love to flow through you to a wicked world. Love your enemies brothers and sisters and pray to God. Accept fully the situation you find yourself in and then find God in the very midst of it. Whether for a day or for ten years, walk faithfully in this. In this “the fruit of your womb shall be blessed.” Life, eternal life, will spring forth from the wellsprings of your heart. Jesus is our inexhaustible source. Stay close to Him and you will give birth to life.
My father died on the 21st of March and I went back to Scotland for the funeral. Below is a a part of his eulogy that I gave.
A portion of my fathers eulogy………. (picture I took that morning)
On the morning of my fathers funeral I got up early and walked along the shore. In a country where it could easily have been pouring down with rain, it was cloudless. The sun rose in the sky and the air was sharp and clear. I sensed the presence of the Lord and a word came to my spirit, so tender, and so beautiful and it spoke to me. This was to be the opening of my eulogy…………………
I am persuaded this morning of the blessed hope in Christ my Lord. Just as surely as the river keeps running and the hills and the mountains stand guard over the valley, my hope in Jesus is even more sure than that. I am persuaded that just as the sun rose gloriously this morning, my father has been gloriously raised again into eternal life by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. I am persuaded that………………….God is in this place. I am persuaded that God loves each person in this room and desires to know each of you personally.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us……….Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?………..For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A Call To The Remnant 