A Pilgrimage Fueled By Hope ~ Week 9
Hannah’s Prayer
by Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
Dear Friends,
What is your default mode when life comes crashing down? What systems are you building into your life while the sun shines that will fuel your pilgrimage with hope when storm clouds burst open and rain torrents make it hard to see your next steps?
Books on grief line my office library shelves. After the deaths of our son, Mark and his friend, Kelly, I desperately searched for hope in the words of those ahead of me in the grief journey. Friends who suffer specific life crises, such as a broken marriage, conclude that the only study or book topic that will help them has to be on marriage. Parenting crisis call for books on parenting. These books and Bible studies have their place, but I have learned that when our hearts are tender and desperate for hope, God’s Word speaks to every circumstance of life. The Bible passage may appear to have nothing to do with the loss of a child, yet because God’s Word is living, it acts as a slow-acting soul medication that cultivates a deeper faith in the darkest, storm shattered days.
Sometimes in my pilgrimage doubts about the validity of God’s Word start to fester. How do I know this Bible is really true? Can I really live my life through the grid that God is sovereign and I can trust Him, especially when there is no break in the pain I feel in my chest?
As we wrap up our visit with Hannah, I hope you will see evidence that you can trust God’s Word and promises as true and applicable to you today. We meet Hannah once more as she entrusts her three-year-old son to Eli, a priest whose own sons were corrupt and “worthless”. Hannah not only keeps her vow to give her son to God for the rest of his days, but does so with joy. She prays words that we will hear once more from the lips of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The parallels between these two women are remarkable and contribute to my own faith that God’s Word is true and supernaturally written as a means to introduce us to Jesus and encourage us in our own pilgrimages Home.
There is a thread through the Scriptures that ties together all the promises of God and we will see that thread clearly as we take a peek into the prayers of Hannah and Mary. Through their prayers they are calling back to us that God is sovereign and we can trust Him.
Treasured by Him,
Sharon
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LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
As you attend church today, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how the promise of community is a gift to you personally. Also ask the Holy Spirit to show you how the Scriptures and the message apply to your life, even though they may not mention your specific circumstances.
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Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.