Real people- Real problems
1 Samuel 1:1-28, 2:1-2
Part 1 ----Hannah
In the world today it seems that there are two common thoughts on Christians and problems
Some want to claim that Christians no longer suffer from worldly problems
This is just not true- Jesus said I am hated and persecuted and so you will be
Others claim that all problems are due to sin or disobedience in a Christian’s life
Claiming that if you are not healthy, wealthy and happy
That you don’t have enough Faith
This makes it seem that if you are not getting what you want
It is because there is something wrong with you
This also is not true
The fact is
Every Christian faces real life problems.
Just because you accepted Jesus doesn't mean you will be immune to
Suffering
Pain,
And
Troubles in life.
Jesus says to paraphrase
“I came to give you life
And life more abundantly”
Life is all about hills and valleys
Highs and lows
So life more abundantly means the highs will be higher ---the mountains taller
But also that the lows will be lower – the valley’s deeper
I can tell you even though all people
Believers and non believers alike will face problems
Believers have an ace in the hole
You see-We have an instruction book on how to deal with problems and we have a counselor- the Holy Spirit in our hearts to guide us
And when we follow the instructions and listen to our Helper
Our reactions, responses and the outcome of the problems often change
Today is the first in a series from 1 Samuel titled “Real people – Real problems”
In today’s message we are going to study how Hannah overcame her real life problems.
And see how we in the process
Can apply the bible tour own worldly problems
And find real solutions
Please open your bibles to 1 Samuel
1 Samuel 1:1-2
There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph[a] in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
Today I want to talk about facing real life problems
And
Finding and using the faith it takes to overcome them.
1 Samuel introduces to us a woman named Hannah.
She is one of the great ladies of the bible.
The women will be studying her life in their study of 12 extraordinary women at the 9 o’clock Round pen bible study
And I can tell you
You will not find a book about biblical women that does not contain her story
First
What I need you to know is that she is a woman of faith
But also
She is a real woman
With a real life problems.
Her story gives us a chance to see how a person of faith can manage problems in life.
And an opportunity to learn how we can do the same
Let’s take a look at Hannah’s story.
In order to set the stage for this story
We need to back track just a bit
Please
Turn to the very last verse of the Book of Judges and allow me to give you some background about the times in which Hannah lived.
The nation of Israel is in a tight spot
Judges 21:25
25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”
God’s people
The nation of Israel
Were being torn apart by a lack of leadership
They were failing in their faith in areas varying from immorality to idolatry
Everyone is just doing what they think is best or what feels good
Or makes them happy
Let’s think about this for just a moment
Because this applies to our society today just as strongly as it did in the time of the Judges
Where there is a an absence of Godly leadership
No moral standards to draw the lines of right and wrong
The end result is intolerance to any morality.
Evil will rise up
This was a real problem then
It is a real problem now
And every time we read those words in scripture – everyone did as they pleased
A wreck soon follows
In the book of Judges
Mostly because of the sin of idolatry God would remove his blessings from his children by raising up their enemies;
As we have studied -The nation of Israel was often oppressed by the surrounding nations.
Many times they were slaves to other nations
And then
The people would cry out to God during their problem
God would hear their cries
He would remember His covenant with them and have mercy.
Only to have them repeat their sins when the new wore off or the storm ended
In the early days God appointed judges to lead His people in repentance and overthrow their oppressors;
But
Their freedom generally lasted only as long as the judge was alive.
This brings us to 1 Samuel.
When we come to 1 Samuel, we’re introduced to Hannah.
She is a woman with real life problems.
What we see is a woman who did not lose faith or hope in spite of the problem she faced.
Her persistence
And
Her faith
Brought about miracle provision
That would dramatically impact not only her life
And the life of her family,
But the lives an entire nation as well.
Trickling all the way down to us many years later
In her story we will see
5 Defining Traits of Real People of Faith on dealing with Real Life Problems.
If you are struggling with a real life problem / who isn’t
Pay attention- take notes
Her story has a lot of relevance in how we deal with problems as well
Let’s look at her problems first
1 Samuel 1:2
2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
1 Samuel 1:6-7
6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle.[c] Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
Let’s begin with this important understanding…
People of faith
Face real life problems
It’s easy to think that the heroes in the Bible were somehow different than we are.
We might think that it’s tough to relate to them because their lives were so perfect and their culture was so different than ours.
Actually, the Bible is filled with people just like you and me who had real life problems, and had to learn how face them with real faith.
In 1 Samuel 1, we’re introduced to a man named Elk-anah.
Verse 2 tells us that “He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Penninah.
Penninah had children, but Hannah had none.”
It’s important to understand the culture of the day to really get the impact of this problem
In those days the wife’s chief role was to provide a male heir for her husband along with other children.
A barren womb was considered a curse and Hannah would have been looked down upon.
As a result
She suffered from low self esteem
She was socially disgraced,
And
She was emotionally depressed.
And then to make things worse her husband had two wives
And the other wife
Penniah made her life miserable by constantly rubbing her nose in the fact that she was barren
Listen
Let me take a quick side road
Even Though the Bible records the polygamous relationships of some of the early bible figures
It never endorses it. It simply records it- I could go on here but this is another message for another day
But back to the original problem
Verse 6
. “6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children.”
Notice the source of Hannah’s problem… the Lord had kept her from having children
Other versions say
God closed her womb
The problem that she was having came from the Lord.
This kind of blows the theory that believers will not have worldly problems
Sometimes we don’t really want to believe that problems can come from God
We’d rather blame it all on Satan, or on someone else.
But it is God who allows good things and bad things to come into our lives.
God is in charge
Remember when Jobs wife yelled at him in Job 2:9 to curse God and die
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”
And he replied in verse 10
10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
King Solomon echoed Jobs thoughts in
Ecclesiastes 7:14
“Enjoy prosperity while you can,
but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
So we must ask why God would allow hardship to come our way.
We have to go back to our Bona Fide series and the book of James for that answer
James 1:2–4
2 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
So, here we have a woman of faith, facing real life problems
She was barren
She desperately wanted a child, but the Lord had closed her womb
Added to her distress what her husband’s other wife…
Penninah couldn’t just be thankful that she had children
But
She felt the need to harass Hannah as well- I believe there was more than just a bit of jealously in this relationship
Some of you can relate to this
It’s not bad enough that you have a problem you cannot solve
It’s not enough that this problem has caused you spiritual distress, emotional depression, shame and guilt
But
On top of all that you have a family member or friend who should be loving and understanding…
Trying to provoke you every time you together to feel more guilty, more shameful, more distressed and depressed
So let’s see how Hannah handled it
And
Let’s look at 5 ways Real people of faith deal with real problems so we can as well
The first of the 5 traits of how believers deal with real life problems
Is
1st--- They place God first
Verse 3 tells us that Elk-anah and his two wives made a yearly visit to Shiloh, about a twenty-mile trip to worship the Lord.
This shows us something about their relationship with the Living God revealed in the Old Testament.
Remember I told you they lived in a time where everyone did as they pleased
But this family was different
When the whole culture was “headed south” spiritually speaking
Elk-anah and his wives and family swam against the tide and went to worship.
Here is a fact of faith
You greatly increase the ability to endure real life problems as a family when you make God a priority in your family.
Elk-anah brought his family to worship
Listen
Men- but this applies to the women as well
The greatest gifts you can give your family is to rise up and lead your family in spiritual things.
Lead your family in prayer around the dinner table
Bring your family to church;
Give spiritual guidance and leadership to your family
Show your spouse, and your sons and daughters that your strength is not about your physical conditioning or your IQ or even street smarts
But
That true strength comes from your relationship with God
The first way Christians deal with real problems is to place God first
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul… and feel what he must have been feeling when he wrote…
2Corinthians 1:8-9
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
Key on verse 9 b with me
“we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God”
People of Real faith face real problems in life by
Placing God first
Then
People of Real Faith
2nd- Pray intensely
Verse 1:9-10
9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.[d] 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.
Hannah had some problems
But she didn’t shut down
She did not retreat into her own depression or guilt or shame
She did not lash out at those around her and blame them for her problems
She didn’t blame God or try to isolate herself from God and His people
She prayed
According to Psalm 119:71 sometimes God uses problems to teach us
To mold us
To grow us in our faith
And obedience
Psalm 119:71 My suffering was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.
If we follow Hannah’s lead
We see that our problems should lead us to prayer
Lead us to God
Not drive us away
Look at verses 10-11 with me
10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.
Her weeping led to worship as her tears mingled with her prayers.
Make no mistake
Hannah is definitely broken.
But her brokenness did not lead her to despair… it lead her to God – it led to worship
Sometimes I’m not sure that we really understand the power of prayer
Over and over from Genesis to Revelation we read stories of people just like you and me who faced incredible challenges and problems in life.
They prayed
God heard
And
God responded.
Sometimes He gave them what they asked for;
Other times He gave them more than they asked for;
But every time He gave them what they needed.
Sometimes with a Yes- Other times with a No
And often with a wait
What I am saying is that when people pray God listens
And
He always answers
You can’t solve your real life problems, but God can…
That’s why we pray
Hannah is appealing to God and his power and authority
Because she knows there is nothing that she can do to fix the problem
But she knows that he can
This wasn’t just a quick prayer
Not just a Rub a dub dub thanks for the grub type of prayer
This was a repeated request, bathed in tears.
She was pouring out her soul to God
Too often we give up in our prayer
We pray a short prayer or for a short time…
But God wants us to pray till
We get the answer
P.U.S.H. is an acronym
For Pray until something happens
This is what Hannah did
Eli saw her praying
Thinking she was drunk
He says in a cowboy kind of way
Do you have to do that here?
So Hannah explained her situation and told him that she was simply praying
And then
Eli then gave her his blessing and when that happened something broke inside her
The heaviness lifted
The mourning and grieving had passed
Her whole countenance changed
After spending time in prayer, her face was no longer sad.
She had left her concerns with the Lord and she began experience the peace that God wants for us
The bible says she was no longer sad
Why
Because though her prayers
And through the confirmation of her prayer
She knew God would help her
Real people of God
Rely on God for real solutions
They place him first
They pray till something happens and then keep on praying
Next is that Real people dealing with real problems seeking a Real God for solutions?
Experience God’s provision
What I mean is he answers prayers according to his will
And we get what we need
Notice I did not say what we want
But
If we are praying correctly and placing him first in our lives
Our desires/ our wants
Line up with his will
And we receive the desires /the wants of our hearts as well
This is what happened here
Verses 19-20
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[f] for she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”
Verse 19 tells us that once again they got up early the next morning and worshipped before the Lord.
This was their practice--not something they did just once in awhile once a month
Once a quarter
Easter and Christmas only
Or just on clear and warm days
They worshipped as a regular part of their lives
Then they went back home.
A short time later!
1 Samuel says Hannah conceived and gives birth to a son, naming him Samuel.
Hannah received God’s provision this time getting her wants as well as her needs and conceived a child and gave birth to a son.
Listen
I love these kinds of stories
Stories of great faith and great rewards for that faith
We all love these faith building stories
But I want to add something her.
Sometimes when you pray
What God gives you is the grace you need to get through the day.
Sometimes what He gives you is peace inside/ In spite of the circumstances outside.
I can’t promise you will always get what you want
But
What I can promise you today is that God will give you what you need if you will pray…
And Trust Him to answer you out of his love for you.
Real People of faith
Put God first
Pray intensely
Receive God’s provision
And then
Real people of faith
Keep their promises
Verses 26-28
26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD. 27 I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.”
After Samuel was born, Elk-anah went once again to Shiloh in order to worship.
Hannah decided to not go until Samuel was weaned, which would have been at around three-years-old.
She dedicated herself to her child, nursing and nurturing him, knowing that when he is able to eat on his own, she “…will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”
Listen
Many people make promises to God, only to forget them once the problem passes.
Oh God many cry---If you will---- I will
Not so with Hannah.
She fully intended to keep her promise because she knew that Samuel did not really belong to her anyway.
Hannah not only dedicated herself to her child, she dedicated her child to the Lord.
She dedicated him but did not abandon him
God’s word says she continued to visit and care for him
And she had prepared him for what he was dedicated to do
This tells me that like Eunice and Louis with Timothy
Hannah had laid the foundation of faith for Samuel
She believed in the commandments from Deuteronomy 6:6-7
6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Listen
It’s one thing to say that our children are dedicated to the Lord; it’s another thing altogether to give them to the Lord.
That’s the kind of love that Hannah had for Samuel.
She was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her son.
She loved him so much that she was willing to forgo a mother’s greatest joy… ¬that of bringing up her son and having him around her.
How and why did she do this… because she loved God more than her own son. She put God first
She made a vow, a promise to the Lord and she honored her word.
That is love in action.
That is honor and integrity.
Real People of faith
Put God first
Pray intensely
Experience God’s provision
Keep their promises
And they
Praise and worship God
Verse 28
28 Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they[k] worshiped the LORD there.
We don’t have time today to explore all of Hannah’s beautiful prayer of praise
But
I do want to point out that there is no sadness here at all/ just praise
She has just dropped off Samuel at the temple and now she breaks out into praise.
She was thrilled to be able to parent a prophet!
Listen to verses 1-2 of chapter 2
“My heart rejoices in the LORD!
The LORD has made me strong.[a]
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
2 No one is holy like the LORD!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Here is the heart of a woman of faith who saw the power of God working in her life…
He took away her barrenness, and gave her a son. Then blessed her with more children because of her faithfulness
Instead of being sad about the circumstance of leaving her son behind at the temple… she lifts up her head and her heart and rejoices in the greatness of God
Praise and worship fill this prayer /focusing on the goodness and greatness of God
Hannah is an example of a woman of faith. A Real person of Faith
Hannah endures years of real problems
But she put God first in spite of the pain
She faithfully prays and worships, pouring out her tears and petitions.
And when God answers her prayers
She not only keeps her promise
She once again explodes with praise.
We all have problems
So
Lift up your head and realize that God loves you for who you are, not for what you do. Or what you have done
He understands your sorrow and your pain and He’ll meet you right where you are.
One of the lessons from the life of Hannah is that each of us needs to be growing in our own relationship with God.
Real Faith
Real solutions
For real life problems…
From a Real- BIG GOD
.Close from the heart
Pray
