Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Hannah's Song

Tuesday, December 20, 2016
“He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness.  No one will succeed by strength alone.  Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.  He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth.  He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.”  1 Samuel 2:9-10(NLT)
These few sentences are part of Hannah’s Song.  Hannah had been childless, but God gave her a son, Samuel.  This is the conclusion of Hannah’s prayer of praise to God for His faithfulness.  So, in faithful obedience to her promise, Hannah gave Samuel back to the Lord to serve with Eli the priest at the temple. 
Many see Messianic promise in this passage.  It’s hard to miss it with Hannah’s reference to his anointed one; that is a formula easily applied to an earthly king of the Lord’s choosing, or the coming Messiah, Jesuah, the King of Kings.
While the ministry of preachers and pastors is generally associated with the eternal king, let’s talk about earthly rulers for a minute or two.  The past year’s bitterly contested presidential race was not entirely over until December 19th when the Electoral College vote made the election results final.  I’m writing this early Monday morning…so I don’t know the outcome yet.  But I thought it interesting that the title picture of an article I read about the electoral college has a US map with the electoral votes of each state tacked to a portable bar – one can’t help wondering if that’s what it takes to complete our political process!)[ii]
It’s no secret that there was little “middle ground” in this election.  It was love the candidate or hate the candidate, and votes cast were like blows landed, rather than civic cooperation.  In more than a few cases the voter considered both candidates unfit and simply voted for the one that generated the least level of despicability.  And, with no middle-way to be found, voters lined up for the November battle, fearing the fate of the country should it fall into the hands of that other party.
It’s hard to let go of that which you love; that takes trust!  We can all learn a lesson from Hannah.  She trusted God for a child, then gave him up to the Lord who had blessed her, by giving her the child for which she had prayed.  Hannah knew God was in charge.
The U.S. Presidency is also God’s business.  America has been blessed for 240 years with the most fruitful land, resources, economy, and spirit.  And so it is not a difficult leap from Hannah’s song of faith to America’s need for the same kind of faith.  Can we not also release our country, our freedom child into the hands of God?
Remember what the prophet Zechariah said:
It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  Zechariah 4:6b(NLT)
If the electoral college needs a stiff, strong belt of Jack Daniels to complete the job of placing Donald Trump in the Oval Office…or if they revolted en masse and turned it over to Secretary Clinton…if they need that, well let them have their drink; I’m satisfied God will still be in control of what comes.

For You Today

What is it that makes you take a deep breath (or a stiff drink) before moving ahead?  Could it be you need to hear Hannah’s Song again?
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
NOTES


[i] Title image: Jan Victors [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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