To Encourage You

1 Samuel 2:1 “And Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord’”

As you look at yourself today and take stock of your life, can you say that you are “exulting?” It’s such a wonderful word. It means “to jump for joy!”

Up until the moment of the verse from 1 Samuel 2 above, we see Hannah as anything but joyful. We find that she is a woman who has been “grievously provoked” by her rival Peninah, her husband Elkanah’s other wife (1 Samuel 1:6). We find her weeping (1 Samuel 1:7). Other words that describe her are “deeply distressed,” “bitter,” “afflicted,” “troubled in spirit,” “anxious,” and “vexed.” It’s not a pretty picture, but how many of us can relate?

Life is hard and there is trouble all around us. If we listen to the news, our neighbors, and all the other voices in our world, so much of what people are experiencing can be summed up with these same words. But how many people do you know who are actually “exulting” about anything? Do you know anyone who is “jumping for joy”? Are these words that describe you? Well, they can be if you would but learn Hannah’s secret. You see, in all of Hannah’s misfortune and bitterness, in her barrenness and sorrow because she had never borne a child and was constantly reminded of that misfortune by Peninah, she continually prayed for God to touch her life with His favor. She continually prayed for a son. And then the Lord answered, and she jumped for joy because of it.

But notice where her joy ultimately resided: her exultation was “in the Lord.” It was in her relationship with Him and her recognition that the God of the universe had personally blessed her by answering her prayers that her joy came. She exults in the many gifts God had given her and she exults in the character and attributes of the Lord of lords. She exults in the fact that her strength comes from God (1 Samuel 2:1). She is joyful in God’s great salvation (2:1). She exults in this God Who is “other” than any other being in the universe, for He is holy like no other, a rock of protection and defense like no other, full of knowledge like no other, and just, like no other (2:2-3). She exults in the knowledge that her son Samuel had come to her directly as a precious gift from God. She exults in the fact that she knows this One Who has all power, including both the power to kill and to give life, to meet our every need, to make the poor rich and to make them “sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Samuel 2:6-8). She rejoices that in the end God will judge the world in righteousness and all the injustices of the world will be perfectly avenged (1 Samuel 2:9-10).

But do we understand that this state of exultation that described Hannah can be shared by each and every person who knows the Lord? Do we realize that we have been given a much greater gift than the gift of the son that God gave Hannah, for He has given us all His only begotten Son? Do we realize that it is in reflecting on Jesus’ greatness and the incomprehensible privilege of knowing Him that we can “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8)?

Yes, the secret to exultation, the blessing of being able to “jump for joy” in spite of all the reasons that we might otherwise have to be anxious and fearful, is knowing Christ, the Son of God. It’s in this relationship and the grace that He has showered upon us that we can be like Paul, who wrote from prison to encourage us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

So, do you know the joy of Hannah? Do you know the joy of Paul? Do you know that in the Word of God Jesus has told us the wonderful truth that “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). That’s the joy of salvation. That’s the joy of knowing Christ. Do you know that joy? Does it describe your life and attitude? Well, if not, God would have you to know that it’s the very thing that is available to each and every one who will believe.