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Think Ahead
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One could argue that one of the most important verses in Scripture is also one of the most often disobeyed. It appears everywhere—on coffee mugs, in homes, on posters—yet we struggle to live it out. That verse is Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight.
It's really easy to put on a coffee mug. It's really hard to do. It is way easier to worry than it is to trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Many of us are worried about something right now. For students, it might be an upcoming test. You might be facing a decision and aren't sure which way to go. Perhaps you're concerned about your schedule—how will you get it all done? Maybe you're worried about a child who isn't living in a way you think is wise or God-honoring.
It could be your marriage. You're trying, praying, and hoping, but no matter how hard you work, it feels like you take two steps forward and then nineteen back. Financially, the moment you catch up, everything doubles in price. You wonder if you'll ever afford a house when you can barely buy milk right now.
You might be worried about the health of someone you love or your own health. Whatever it is, the weight is real.
Here's what I want you to understand: what you worry about the most often reveals where you trust God the least. Whatever you worry about most is often an indicator of the place where you may not be trusting in the Lord with all your heart. Instead, you're leaning on your own understanding.
Today we're going to look at Hannah from the Old Testament—someone who learned to trust God even when circumstances gave her every reason not to. Her story is found in 1 Samuel 1.
Elkana was a pretty good man, but he had some things to learn about women. First of all, he had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
Many scholars believe that Elkana married Hannah first, but when she couldn't conceive, he married Peninnah to keep his legacy going. You can only imagine what this was like for Hannah. During that time, a woman's primary value was determined by childbearing. The culture taught that if you couldn't have children, you had done something wrong—God was punishing you. You were cursed.
Hannah likely wondered: Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me? Am I a failure? She felt shame for something that wasn't her fault, yet she believed it was.
Elkana took his family to the annual worship time at the temple for sacrifice and worship. Peninnah took every opportunity to taunt and mock Hannah because the Lord had kept her from having children. And here's the phrase that hits hard: year after year it was the same.
Year after year, Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the temple. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
Some of you could probably say the same thing: year after year it was the same. Maybe year after year you've prayed and believed this would be the year God would bring supernatural healing—and year after year it was the same. Year after year you've asked God to heal you of depression, and you find it even difficult to make it through the day. Year after year you've worried about money and believed this would be the year you finally got ahead, only to fall further behind. Year after year you've believed God would bring someone special into your life, and year after year you have no good prospects.
All Hannah wanted was what God does for almost everybody else. She was simply asking for a child. And God didn't give her one. Year after year she prayed and waited and hoped—and year after year it was the same.
How did Hannah keep her faith in God? How did she handle it when people were cruel, when they criticized her, when God seemed unfair?
She had pre-decided that no matter what she saw, no matter what happened in her life, no matter what God did or did not do, she would trust in God. And her trust and faith grew because our trust in God does not grow in good times—we learn to trust God in the trials. We learn to trust God when things aren't going the way we want them to go.
Her husband Elkana made a massive mistake. He said to Hannah, "Why are you crying? Why aren't you eating? Why are you so downhearted just because you have no children? Don't you have me? Aren't I better than ten sons?"
He completely missed the point. And while we don't know exactly what Hannah said back to him, we know she didn't let his foolishness turn her away from God. Even when married to someone who didn't understand, even when she wanted the one thing from God that only He could give and He didn't give it—Hannah chose to turn to God and unload on Him.
After a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went out to pray. She was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. We don't know exactly what she said, but it was probably something like: God, where are you? Why haven't you answered? I've trusted you. I know you can do this, and I've been faithful, and I'm believing you. But she has children and I don't. God, where are you?
Just because you cry out to God doesn't mean you don't trust Him. In fact, crying out is often a reflection of your desire to keep trusting Him. God can handle your honesty. He can handle your emotion. I promise you He would rather you run to Him in honest pain than turn your back on Him when you don't understand.
In the middle of her pain, Hannah made a vow to God. She said:
Oh 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. If you hear my prayer, I will dedicate the entirety of his life to your service.
In the middle of her sobbing, crying out in deep anguish and profound sorrow, Eli the priest spoke to her. He said, "Go in peace, and may God grant your request."
Nothing had changed. Her situation was exactly the same. But he told her God would grant her request. She replied, "Oh thank you, sir," and she went back and began to eat again. And here's the key: she was sad no longer.
Her circumstances didn't change. She still didn't have a baby. Her prayer still hadn't been answered. But she was no longer sad.
How is that possible? Because she had pre-decided and in that moment reaffirmed with everything in her that no matter what happens, she's going to trust in the Lord with every bit of her heart and lean not on her own understanding of what she thinks should happen and what she would do if she were God.
Her circumstances did not change—but her heart changed. She put her faith in God.
Then comes this verse that is ridiculously emotional: The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more.
Nothing outwardly had changed. The situation was exactly as it was before. God hadn't done anything noticeable. And they went to worship the Lord once more.
Let's be honest: it is super hard to trust God when you don't understand. It's hard when you know He could do something and He doesn't. You've tried to be faithful. You've sought Him and prayed and fasted and prayed some more. You've begged and pleaded and hoped. You've done good things for people, hoping God might notice. You've continued to pray and pray, and God doesn't come through.
And yet they went to worship the Lord once more.
I've had maybe two times in the last ten years where I've broken down and sobbed uncontrollably. One was about two weeks after my dad's death. The other was several weeks back when a situation that I've mentioned before hit me so hard. It was right before church on the weekend when I was supposed to preach.
I was back there with Amy in my office, ten minutes before church, and I was sobbing and sobbing. Eight minutes before church. Six minutes. Five minutes. Church starts and the music's playing and I can't stop. I've got red eyes. I've got tears everywhere. I said, "How am I going to preach?"
I wiped the tears, cleaned up as much as I could, and Amy and I walked and sat in our normal seat on the front row. And we worshiped the Lord once more. Nothing had changed. But by faith, we praised God like He heard our prayer and answered it. We worshiped the Lord once more.
I don't know who this is for, but you've been hanging on and you're about to give up. One of the biggest acts of faith is to praise God when you still don't see it—to worship Him when you don't feel like it. Just say: I'm not worshiping You for what I see. I'm worshiping You for who You are. You've always been good. You've always been faithful. Wipe the tears away. Lift up your hands toward heaven. Worship Him once more. Because you're not worshiping Him for just what you see—you're worshiping for what He says. You're worshiping for His faithfulness.
Then we read that Elkana and Hannah reconciled—she forgave him for that ridiculous "better than ten sons" comment. And in due time, she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, which means "heard by God." She named him this because she said, "I asked the Lord for him."
Every single time she said her son's name—"Hey Samuel"—she was saying, "God heard." She was remembering her trial and remembering the faithfulness of God.
Now, this raises a question: Why did God take so long? Why didn't He do it years earlier?
Honestly, I don't have a clue. I didn't study that in seminary—it's above my pay grade. God's ways are higher than our ways. I don't know why God didn't do what He could have done earlier. But here's what I do know: through the whole process, she got to a point where she actually dedicated her unborn son to the Lord.
If God had given her a baby earlier, she might not have done that. Sometimes God needs to do something in me long before He does something for me. Sometimes He's got to teach me something. He's got to do something in my heart to change it, so that when He does answer my prayer, I'll trust in the Lord with all my heart. Sometimes He's got to heal my heart.
Maybe God wants to do something in you before He does something for you. Maybe He's waiting to transform your heart so that when the answer comes, you'll be ready to dedicate it fully to Him.
So how do we wait well? How do we trust when nothing has changed yet?
One of the most helpful things for me is a five-year journal—one where you only write a little bit each day. What I love about it is that when I go back and look at previous years on the same day, I see all my prayer requests and what actually happened.
On August 10th, 2017, I was worried about something and not trusting God with it. A year later, I can see that God was actually faithful. Year over year, I see the faithfulness of God. I never know on the day itself, but a year or two or three years later, I look back and say, "Oh God, I still may not understand, but I see Your goodness. I see Your faithfulness."
Because God has been faithful in the past, we can trust Him with the future. His word is true. He is always faithful.
I believe God has a word for someone who's waiting right now. God has a word for someone who's hurting right now. God has a word for someone who's disappointed with God.
I want to tell you and promise you: God has not left you. He is still here. He is still good. He is always, always faithful. His promises are true. You can trust Him. You can let Him back in. You can run to Him. You can cry out to Him. You can fall upon Him. You can cry in deep anguish to Him.
And then you can worship the Lord once more.
Because He is always good. He is always with you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you.
Hannah pre-decided to trust Him no matter what, and then she dedicated her unborn son and had a son and kept her word. She gave Samuel to the Lord.
And what did God do through Samuel? So many things. God spoke to Samuel. He interceded on behalf of God's people faithfully. He became a judge over Israel. He established a school of prophets. He anointed David as the king of Israel. And through David's lineage, it actually led to the birth of Christ.
That whole legacy—that entire chain of blessing and faithfulness—came from one woman who learned to trust in the Lord with all her heart, who learned to lean not on her own understanding, who in every way acknowledged Him, submitted to Him, surrendered to Him.
What do you think God might do through you if you choose to trust Him in your trial? What might God do in you? What might God do through you? What might God do for you if you choose to trust Him in your trial?
God, help us to trust in You with every bit of our hearts, because You're good, Your promises are true, and You are always faithful.
As we pray together, I want to acknowledge that for those of you who are waiting and hurting and questioning, God wants to do a healing work in you—just like He did in Hannah. Even though nothing has changed yet, we can be sad no more and worship Him again.
Let's do this: open your eyes. We're the body of Christ, and I want us to pray for each other. There's something weighing on you right now—a burden, a worry, a concern. If that's you, would you lift up your hands? If you're online, type "I have a burden" in the comments.
If you would, reach out appropriately and put your hand on the shoulder of someone near you. We're going to pray together as the family of God, reaching out to one another, because God works through the laying on of hands and the community of believers.
God, we come before You as people who are hurting and needing You. We acknowledge that sometimes it's really, really hard to trust You. We can't see You. We don't know what You're doing. We don't understand all Your purposes. But God, we predecide—we choose—to put our faith in You.
At this moment, as we feel the touch of another human being, help us to feel the touch of Your hand. Help us to know Your supernatural love for us, Your providence, Your care.
We thank You that You're working in all things to bring about good to those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. Your ways are higher than our ways. You have a bigger picture. Help us to trust in You.
God, help us to trust in You with every bit of our hearts—with our children, with our health, with our finances, with our relationships, with our careers, with our spiritual life, with our fears, with our mental health issues. With whatever is weighing on us, help us to trust in You.
We cry out to You in deep anguish. We cry out to You. Thank You that You hear the cries of our hearts. We pray that You'd lift our heads and rejoin our hearts. We pray for those who walked in sad that they would be sad no more, and we would worship You once again—because You are always good and always faithful.
Let me ask you a question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that if your life was over today, you would be right with God?
If you're not a 10, I want to talk to you. It doesn't matter if you're a 7, a 5, an 8—if you're not a 10, this matters.
We are never made right with God by our own good works. Every single one of us has sinned. You've sinned. I've sinned. And our sin separates us from the holiness of God.
But God's love is so amazing and so personal that He didn't just tell us He loved us from heaven—He showed His love on earth. He sent His Son, Jesus, who is perfect in every way. Jesus came not to judge the world but to save the world.
The one who was without sin gave His life on a cross. He died, and three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead so that anyone—and this includes you, no matter what you've done—anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved.
Scripture says: If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. If you surrender to the lordship of Christ, your sins are forgiven. They're not held against you. That means you're heaven bound. You belong to God. You're a child of God.
So if I ask you, "Scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you?"—say 10. If you say anything less than 10, let's make it a 10 today.
Step away from your sin. Step toward the grace of Jesus Christ. Call on Him. When you do, God hears your prayer, and you become new. Everything else is gone, and you become new.
Today, at all of our churches and wherever you're watching from, if you need His grace—if you know you've sinned and you want His forgiveness—we're going to step away from your sin. We're going to repent of it, and we're going to surrender our lives, all of it, to Jesus. We're going to trust in Him and Him alone for our salvation.
Those of you who say, "I need that. I want that. I want to be a 10. I want to be sure. I want to belong to Him. I need Jesus. I need His forgiveness. I'm ready to surrender my life to Him"—that's your prayer today. Would you lift your hands high right now? All over the place, lift them up.
If you're online, you can type in the comment section: "I am surrendering my life to Jesus."
As we have many people here and people around the world, let's all pray together:
Heavenly Father, I'm ready to trust You. I'm ready to trust You to forgive my sins. I trust Jesus to be the Lord of my life, to be my Savior. I trust Your Holy Spirit to fill me so I could know You and live for You. My life is no longer my life. I give it all to You. I surrender. Use my life to glorify You. Thank you for new life, for forgiveness, for salvation. I give You all of mine, in Jesus' name I pray.
Could somebody get loud and give God praise? Worship the Lord once more.
