What Hannah in the Bible Can Teach Us About Patience

 What Hannah in the Bible Can Teach Us About PatienceGuest post by Sarah Ann of Proverbs31Mentor.com.

Have you ever been in a season of waiting on God and trusting in His perfect timing?

Ten years ago, I was in the waiting room of life, like Hannah in the Bible. Similar to Hannah in the Bible, I had aching arms as I waited for God to send me a child of my own.

Through that season of painful waiting and desperate pleading, I discovered the joy and beauty of trusting God with empty hands as I surrendered my dream of motherhood to Him.

While waiting on God may not be easy or short, there is beauty in the journey if you press into God and believe in His faithfulness. Just like Hannah in the Bible.

 

In fact, the story of Hannah in the Bible is one of hope and faith that still holds priceless lessons for spiritual growth and accepting God’s path when we don’t see the way.

Discover how Hannah in the Bible’s story of patience and courageous faith can spur you on in your own life journey.

 

 

Who was Hannah in the Bible?

 

Hannah in the Bible’s story unfolds in 1 Samuel, where we learn that she is the wife of Elkanah. According to Bible commentaries, Elkanah of Ramathaim of the hill country of Ephraim was a man of influence and monetary wealth.

However, Hannah in the Bible’s womb was closed and she was unable to conceive or bear this noble man a son. Therefore, Elkanah took another wife, Peninnah, to bear children and continue the family bloodline.

Yet Peninnah never let Hannah forget that she was unable to conceive and made Hannah feel inferior about her infertility whenever Hannah went to the house of the Lord.

When the family traveled together to offer sacrifices to the Lord, Peninnah consistently provoked Hannah in the Bible and taunted her about her closed womb. Yet it was Hannah that Elkanah loved, and he gave her a double portion of blessings while at the offering where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were priests of the Lord.

 

Despite Elkanah’s graciousness in giving Hannah bigger portions, Hannah was heartbroken and desperate to become a mother. In the temple, she wept with a deep ache from within and cried tears of bitterness and despair.

She fervently pleaded and asked that the God of Israel grant her a male child and made a vow to dedicate the baby back to the Lord as a servant all the days of his life if He opened her womb. Faithfully, the Lord heard Hannah’s vow and allowed her to conceive a baby boy, Samuel.

Once he was a boy Samuel was weaned, and Hannah graciously gave him to the Lord as promised. God was faithful to Hannah in the Bible and Hannah kept her promise to Him by taking Samuel, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine to the priest of Eli at the house of the Lord at Shiloh.

This story is an invitation to lay your burdens at God’s feet while giving us a reminder that God hears the cries of our hearts. So whatever burdens you’re shouldering, remember: the Lord is faithful to provide hope and joy in all seasons of life.

 

15 Great Women of the Bible Every Christian Woman Should Study

 

Guess what! This post is part of a series on the Great Women of the Bible.

Be sure to check out all of the other posts in this series here: 15 Great Women of the Bible Every Christian Woman Should Study.

We are studying great women of the Bible including Ruth, Rahab, and Rachel, so you’ll definitely want to check them out!

 

3 Powerful Life Lessons Learned from Hannah in the Bible

 

When I was in my own season of waiting on God, I felt an immediate kinship with Hannah in the Bible. I also felt the deep, bitter ache of a barren womb, and desperately longed for a child.

The story of Hannah in the Bible is filled with beautiful and tangible lessons for Christian women today. Her remarkable character under fire is one we can all learn from and apply to our lives, no matter what you’re waiting on God for today.

 

1. Be Honest and Transparent With God About Your Feelings

 

Hannah in the Bible’s burden was great and her spirit was crushed by the weight of her sorrow. 1 Samuel 1:10 reflects the depth of her turmoil, great anxiety, and vexation.

 

“She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”

 

Yet Hannah did not mask her feelings or pretend that she was doing alright. She brought her deep sorrow and darkest moments before the Lord. Even though she was in agony, she knew she could trust her heart to God and that His power was no match for the bitterness of her soul.

And like Hannah in the Bible, we too, should lay our transparent feelings before God. No matter how dark our thoughts or how enraged we feel, God can take our honesty and transparency. (Psst… don’t forget, he already knows your heart!!)

 

2. Trust the Lord and His Timing

 

Does God seem to be moving slowly and taking His sweet time? Why does it seem that what we ache for the most takes the longest time to come to fruition?

Yet God knows the truth. In the waiting, there is a sweetness of surrender. It’s in the messy moments filled with sorrow, darkness, and nothing but stormy skies, that God refines our hearts and draws us close to Him.

Those broken, raw moments of transparency with God are where we finally discover the beauty of surrender and the gift of obedience.

Hannah in the Bible discovered the same thing. While it’s often heart-wrenching to wait on God’s timing and trust in His plan when we don’t see the way, there is beauty in discovering the steadfast character of God while we wait.

While the days may seem long, He is never late and delivers His promises at just the right time to bring Him glory in the end. That’s worth waiting for!

 

3. Be Fervent in Spiritual Growth

 

Hannah in the Bible’s lesson to those in a crisis is clear, never stop praying and seeking God. She didn’t let her unmet expectations hinder her relationship with God or keep her from seeking His face.

She remembered something that we easily forget – that her relationship with God was key to thriving in the waiting room of life.

It’s the same way with our life, friend. When we’re in the pit of despair and waiting for God to move, we flourish when we set our eyes and heart on Him.

Even if you don’t feel His presence or are weary from the wait, seek His face. Open God’s Word and saturate your soul with promises in Scripture. Take a moment to worship Him as you wait.

Trust that God will meet you in your quiet time, just as He met Hannah in the Bible, and will give you the endurance to press on, even when you don’t see the way.

No matter what looms before you or what mountains stand in your way, remember Hannah in the Bible’s faithful character and heart of surrender. May her example help you cling to God’s promise of hope in hardship and trust the path He has planned.

 

 

Have you been through a period of waiting on God’s timing like Hannah in the Bible? How do you keep the faith during a season of waiting?

 

Sarah AnnSarah Ann is a perfectly imperfect wife and mother and is thankful for the saving grace of the Lord.  When she’s not busy folding yet another load of laundry or comforting a crying child, she enjoys studying God’s Word, writing, and spending time with authentic friends. She’s passionate about equipping women to live with intentional faith, family, health, and home at Proverbs31Mentor.com.

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  1. Great insight Sarah! I love how Hannah trusted God and that his plan for Samuel is better than her way or her plan. She may not understand it but she trusted it. Through her life she had learned to wait on the Lord and trust in him. For everything she went through, she was strong in her faith and a great example to follow.

  2. I found this post to be incredibly insightful. Hannah’s story is a powerful reminder that patience and trust in God’s timing are crucial in our own journeys. As someone who often struggles with impatience, I am inspired to practice more patience in my own life. Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking post!

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