Having a Heart Like Hannah

Surrendering and trusting are two of the roughest things to do when we’re grieving a loss, experiencing pain, battling our emotions, or fighting to remain hopeful.

Click here to listen to this devotional written and narrated by Cara Blondo.

I sat with my friend, unsure of what to say. Pain and loss overwhelmed her due to multiple severed relationships. She believed in God’s goodness, His active presence, and had confidence in His faithfulness and the truth of His Word. My friend also knew she’d give a future testimony about this trial, but until then, she felt unsure how to proceed.

Hannah, whom we encounter in 1 Samuel, also had overwhelming pain. She suffered severe, unrelenting heart and soul pain that no physical remedies could ever relieve. Her loss differed from my friend’s. Hannah’s grief came from an unfulfilled dream and unmet expectations.

Hannah’s husband loved her dearly, but he also had another wife named Peninnah. The Lord had closed Hannah’s womb (1 Samuel 1:6), but Peninnah had many children (verse 4). Hannah had to deal with her pain and disappointment from being barren, as well as suffering continual provocation from her rival, Peninnah.

One day, as Hannah wept bitterly with great anguish, she poured out her heart to the Lord in prayer. Eli, the priest, assumed she was drunk and rebuked her. Hannah explained, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. …I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. …I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief” (1 Samuel 1:15-16).

Would you describe yourself as a woman whose heart overflows with anguish, and whose eyes overflow with tears? If so, you’re not alone.

The original word translated in our Bibles as “trouble” can also mean “hard, difficult, intense, or rigorous of battle.” It’s the word that describes the Israelites’ experience as slaves in Egypt. “And they [the Egyptian taskmasters] made their [the Israelites’] lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:14, clarification mine). For any of us who have experienced such anguish and grief, we know how we can allow bitterness to consume us and how the battle rages within.

When sorrow or battling bitterness overcomes us, like Hannah and my friend, we can remind ourselves that Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, overcame the most excruciating pain and intense suffering. He, too, felt troubled and faced anguish and grief while anticipating the cross. He, too, cried out in prayer.

At His most intense moment, Jesus asked, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). He surrendered.

When Hannah battled through her emotions in prayer and Eli affirmed her request, it lifted her spirits despite not knowing the outcome (1 Samuel 1:18). Instead of feeling hopeless, she trusted God.

Surrendering and trusting are two of the roughest things to do when we’re grieving a loss, experiencing pain, battling our emotions, or fighting to remain hopeful. However, despite circumstances, they’re essential for peace. Jesus overcame through His suffering, and we can overcome through ours.

What disappointment, loss, or pain can you surrender to your Heavenly Father today? Ask God to help you move from a troubled heart to a trusting heart, like Hannah.

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