And Her Face Was No Longer Sad

Rarely do I read the story of Hannah and the birth of Samuel without noticing some other jewel shining in the depths.

 

Things that are outside our frame of reference can sometimes not elicit the same imaginative sympathies and identification.  I’m not sure we can quite wrap our minds around sharing our man with another wife, one who plays with her children when we never have conceived, one who taunts us mercilessly about not having any boys or girls we’ve borne, one who gloats over the ignominy that comes from being barren.  Not even her husband’s reassurance of love could take away the bitterness of her situation.  But Hannah’s heart is revealed to us in a special way, and we see what she does with her deep sorrows.

She is consumed with prayer, not with overloaded emotions.  She goes to the house of God and pours out her soul before him, utterly lost in her communications with the Lord Most High even to the point that she seems drunk.  “I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.”  Her Lord is her confidante, her Savior, her solace and help.  This, after she had fasted.

After she had done these things, she reveals her utter confidence in her Lord’s care of her, in her Lord’s having heard her cry, in her Lord’s ability to work powerfully on her behalf.  She reveals it by her actions and by “the look on her face”.  “Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”  What her husband could not do by reassuring her, was accomplished by her perfect trust in her heavenly relationship with Him.

Does my countenance show that I believe God’s promises?  That I believe, if I have prayed, that I may in confidence leave my petitions before the throne,  go my way, and my face no longer shows grief, anxiety or pain?  How would I bless my husband and children, those around me, if my face shines with a trust in my Lord?  

What do I have in my life that is not under the sovereign intentions of my Lord, under His perfect providential care?  I cannot see the future, either, to know what God intends to do some years hence because of providences unwinding now; and Hannah could not possibly know that God would indeed open her womb and that thousands of years later, her heart responses would be read by millions of women as a testimony of faith in her loving Creator, Redeemer and Eternal King.  That the name Samuel would be a name of honor, signifying a man of God, meaning “heard by God”.  That his story would be immortalized in the holy canon of Scripture, read by all who love Jesus Christ.  That her son would be the man who would anoint the great King David:  “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.  And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”

She didn’t need to know all this.  She simply rose up from consuming prayer, went her way, and her face was no longer sad.

Tomorrow: the second half of thoughts on her amazing example to us

Between Our Impotence and God's Omnipotence

"Let all lovers of souls, and all workers in the service of the gospel, take courage.  Time spent in prayer will yield more than given to work.  Prayer alone gives work its worth and its success.  Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us.  Let our chief work as God’s messengers be intercession; in it we secure the presence and the power of God to go with us.  Let us give ourselves to be intercessors.  Let every sight of souls needing help, let every stirring of the spirit of compassion, let every sense of our own impotence to bless, let every difficulty in the way of our getting an answer, just combine to urge us to do this one thing: with importunity to cry out to the God who alone can help, who, in answer to our prayer, will help…The model intercessor is the model Christian worker.  First to get from God, and then to give to men what we ourselves secure from day to day, is the secret of successful work.  Between our impotence and God’s omnipotence, intercession is the blessed link."

         --Andrew Murray, The Ministry of Intercession

He is Always Ahead

“But let all those who rejoice put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love your name be joyful in You.  For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous.  With favor You will surround them as with a shield.  Psalms 5: 11-12

“How precious are your thoughts unto me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!  Psalms 139:17

“There never was anyone so faithful or considerate or farseeing as Jesus.  He had great commendation to give a woman, because she came “beforehand” with her ministry.  It was His own manner to anticipate events.  He was always thinking ahead of the disciples. When He sent His disciples to prepare the Passover, there was found an upper room furnished and prepared.  He had thought it all out.  His plans were not only made for that day.  He was always in advance of time.  When the disciples came back from fishing, Jesus was on the seashore with a fire of coals and fish laid thereon.  He thinks of the morning duties before you are astir; He is there before you.  He is waiting long before you are awake. His anticipations are all along the way of life before you.

“After the resurrection the disciples were bewildered, and the way looked black.  But the angel said, “Behold, He goeth before you into Galilee.”  He is always ahead, thinking ahead, preparing ahead.  Take this text with you into the future, take it into today’s experience.: ”Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid…I go to prepare a place for you.”  He is out in the world doing it.  He will be there before you.  He will bring you to your appointed place, and you will find your appointed resources.  You will discover His insight, His oversight, and His foresight.  You may not always see Him, But you can walk by faith in the dark if you know that He sees you, and you can sing as you journey, even through the night.”  --John MacBeath, a Scottish minister

Change is Good

Recently I sat with a group of older, godly women who have been faithful keepers in their home.  Most of them have children grown and many gone.  The discussion rabbit-trailed on how so many younger women no longer have desire or need to be mentored by older women; if they wonder about something they’ll just google it, if they want social time they’ll turn to their social media.  We’ve outgrown, then, Titus 2?

But one of the things which interested me for a couple weeks’ worth of thought was the consistent hearing, amongst us all, of the comment or variations on, “Well, that’s just who I am.”  Spoken or inferred being, “I am not going to change.  You must accept who I am, because I have no need to become anyone else.”  We live in a culture where children cut their teeth on the premise that they are born tabula rasa, that they have inherent talent and giftedness no matter if they cultivate and work hard or not, and where building self esteem trumps actual excellence.  It’s no wonder so few pursue godly growth, which often necessitates change.

The qualifier is, of course, that we ought to accept who God has made one another to be, and embrace the differences that make us unique in our interests, calling, and gifts.  That being said, however, when one has not seen a peaceful, orderly home in action, and is not managing her home with cheerful grace and noble womanhood and a contented husband; has not cultivated a quiet spirit, or other gifts of the Spirit, and is inhibiting wisdom, strong marital relationships, vibrant friendships with their children; then she joins the sisterhood of women growing in Christ, pursuing her high calling with energy.  This invariably necessitates change.  Learning, growing, adapting, reading, humbling, CHANGE. 

We three (my daughters and I) bought tshirts on top of the Rocky Mountains picturing aspens turned golden; they say, “Change is Good”.  Seeing the aspens begin to turn was a breathtaking beauty-fest.  Seeing one another change more and more into the image of Christ is more so.  To embrace change as we turn away from self and embrace the reality of our identity in Christ, is a gorgeous garment for we as women to wear.  Let’s wrap ourselves in change that glows, shimmers, with ever-increasing Light!

“But we all…are being transformed into the same image (what image? “the glory of the Lord” is the antecedent—the image being referred to!) from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  (II Cor 3:18) Footnote in my Bible:  “Far from a fading glory, our glory is ever-increasing , as we are changed more and more into the likeness of Christ…we are being progressively restored to greater and greater possession of the image of God which was corrupted at the fall of Adam.”

“People have a hard time believing that their lives could be dramatically different—that they themselves could be dramatically different—because they have no imagination.”—R Rayburn

“Satan will try to convince you that obedience carries much too high a price, but He will never tell you the cost of not obeying God.  If you are to be used in God’s service, you must expect to make adjustments in your life.  Can you measure the distance between a throne room and a cattle shed in Bethlehem?  How far is it from the Lordship of the universe to the cross?  Don’t be deceived into thinking there is no cost involved in obedience.”  (I copied this into my book diary years ago and regrettably forgot to copy the author.  Sounds like Elisabeth Elliott but I regret not ascribing appropriately this gem.)

Center of the Flame

“When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned.”  Isaiah 43:2

"In giving a lecture on flame a scientist once made a most interesting experiment.  He wanted to show that in the center of each flame there is a hollow—a place of entire stillness—around which the fire is a mere wall.  To prove this he introduced into the midst of the flame a minute and carefuly shielded charge of explosive powder.  The protection was then carefully removed and no explosion followed.  A second time the experiment was tried and by a slight agitation of the hand the central security was lost and an immediate explosion was the result.

"Our safety, then, is only in stillness of soul.  If we are affrighted and exchange the principle of faith for that of fear, or if we are rebellious and restless, we shall be burnt by the flames and anguish and disappointment shall be the result.

"Moreover, God will be disappointed in us if we break down.  Testing is the proof of His love and confidence, and who can tell what pleasure our steadfastness and stillness give to Him?  If He allowed us to go without testing it would not be complimentary to our spiritual experience.  Much trial and suffering mean, therefore, that God has confidence in us; that He believes we are strong enough to endure; that we shall be true to Him even when he has left us without outward evidence of His care and seemingly at the mercy of His adversaries.  If He increases the trials instead of diminishing them it is an expression of confidence in us up to the present, and a further proof that He is looking to us to glorify Him in yet hotter fires through which He is calling us to pass. Let us not be afraid!  We shall be delivered from the transitory and the outward and be drawn into closer fellowship with God Himself!"  

--Lettie Cowman

How many times have I forsaken the quiet, still place, let myself get rattled by the circumstances of life or by the unknown ahead or by demands of motherhood, and that little shaking from being centered in Christ caused the explosion?  What good ever came from allowing the slightest variance from clinging to the promises; acknowledging the magnitude of a ruling, loving, providential Father; seeking His glory above my own desires?  How did it ever help my relationships with husband, children, others, to permit "the explosion"?  Life lived in the center of the flame depends on leaning hard into Christ, trusting His Word, being immersed in His promises.  He is the God of the "Yes", remember? (II Cor 1:20)

Weight of Glory

Yesterday at 12,000 feet, we hiked up to some rock formations.  Everywhere among the rocks spangled brilliant silver flashes of light.  I feel that way about these verses from II Corinthians 1-5: they flash and they glow with the glory of God’s thoughts towards us, and they, unlike the common pebbles that marked our path, are actually priceless treasure never even conceivably to be weighed or compared on the scales of gold and diamond currency we know so well.  And they belong to us, His sons and daughters.  Now, we see only dimly, even so; but one day, unimaginably, face to face!

“For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.  That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory.  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the knowledge of Him everywhere.”

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.  Therefore having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.”

“For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

“So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”

I have been going back over the first 6 chapters of II Corinthians several times on this trip, and each time I am struck by the magnificent promises that lie hidden and open, too, in these verses.  The promise that we are comforted by Him in our afflictions—and that in our “light and momentary afflictions” we also are actually “sharing abundantly in Christ’s sufferings”…I had a conversation recently with someone going through an amazingly difficult time and she was saying how she can hardly feel justified in calling her situation suffering as she is so aware of the martyrdoms happening all over the world.  But God has called us to this place and time, and He has indeed given us sometimes sore trials to walk through.  No, indeed, we do not labor in a prison camp as some of our brothers and sisters do in North Korea.  I will rejoice in heaven to see their crowns, cast before their King, and to hear their stories.  But He has pressed in upon us in other ways, not always so easy nor trite; and He gives grace according to our level of suffering as we lean hard into Him, does He not?

I

Staying On The Throne

"In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne 'til he puts himself on the cross.  If he refuses the cross he remains on the throne.  Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today.  We want to be saved but we insist Christ do all the dying.  No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying.  We remain king among the little kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.

"If we will not die then we must die, and that death will mean the forfeiture of many of those everlasting treasures which the saints have cherished.  Our uncrucified flesh will rob us of purity of heart, Christlikeness of character, spiritual insight, fruitfulness; and more than all, it will hide from us the vision of God’s face, that vision which has been the light of earth and will be the completeness of heaven."

--AW Tozer, The Radical Cross

How do we help?—how do we hinder?—our children in accepting the cross in little ways, each day, as they are little?  How do we encourage them remaining on the throne?  As they grow older, are they becoming increasingly acclimated toward the cross?  Or are they staying on the throne?  What example do they see in us?

We were in aspen woods today.  My sister-in-law showed us how to "play" tree-tipping.  Even very tall aspens could be pushed over if their roots had not gone down deep, if they had turned lifeless.  Pressure, and they would come tumbling to the ground with a crash.  Even so are we, if our roots do not go down deeply into life in Christ, if He has not made them strong underground and fruitful above.