The Transaction

Linking with JoAnnFore at http://joannfore.com/thursdays-with-the-voice-bloggers/
on the topic of laying down masks and how sharing our story can help others.

The story of Hannah this week really parallels my own. Crying out to God and knowing He has really heard, not because I get what I want but because He is able to come within and bring peace, no matter what happens next. 

^15-16 Hannah said, “Oh no, sir—please! I’m a woman hard used. I haven’t been drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer. The only thing I’ve been pouring out is my heart, pouring it out to God. Don’t for a minute think I’m a bad woman. It’s because I’m so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I’ve stayed here so long.”

¹⁷ Eli answered her, “Go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you have asked of him.”

¹⁸ “Think well of me—and pray for me!” she said, and went her way. Then she ate heartily, her face radiant. I Samuel 1:15-16 The Message 

( the wider story below - I Samuel 1:1-28 )

desperately unhappy and in such pain...

Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably...

she entered the sanctuary...

The Transaction

a long time pain

day after day

loved, barren, tormented was Hannah

misunderstood and misinterpreted

but she entered the sanctuary

a place of refuge where she could pour out her soul

an offering to God most High

he will hide us in the secret of his presence

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
    from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
    from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the Lord,
    for he showed me the wonders of his love
    when I was in a city under siege.
²² In my alarm I said,
    “I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
    when I called to you for help.

Psalm 31: 20-22 NIV

there I can say it like it is

no holding back

there is no time limit

there is one who is listening

I may not feel Him

I may not see Him

but He is here

He is listening

His tears fall with mine

His heart feels my every wound

the head that once was crowed with thorns

bows to touch the thorns in my life

He does not dismiss

He does not diminish

He does not excuse

He does not explain away

He hears

He cares

He moves

He responds

It may not be in my time

It may not be in my way

It may not be able to be seen by me now

But He has heard

He has heard

He has put my tears in his bottle

He has promised to one day wipe them all away

He will give the meaning to what I am experiencing

whether I can see it now or not

I can come here

He will hear

anytime

every time

all the time

I can trust Him to work

though he bear long with me

though it seems like nothing will ever change

He can give peace in my heart

this does not mean I will never be sad

this does not mean I will never feel devastated

or confused or bewildered or angry

but it does mean underneath it all are the everlasting Arms

"the Eternal God is our Refuge and underneath are the everlasting Arms" Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV

I can lay my burden down

"at the foot of the cross

I lay every burden down"

from the hymn "At the foot of the cross"

listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk7_SBxYSZs

His peace can flow in

to fill all the empty

all the void

soothing and calming all the sharp and painful nerve endings

Rest, my child

I will not rest till I have finished my work

I love you so...

Philippians 4:6-7

The Message (MSG)

^6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Hannah Pours Out Her Heart to God

1 ^1-2 There once was a man who lived in Ramathaim. He was descended from the old Zuph family in the Ephraim hills. His name was Elkanah. (He was connected with the Zuphs from Ephraim through his father Jeroham, his grandfather Elihu, and his great-grandfather Tohu.) He had two wives. The first was Hannah; the second was Peninnah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not.

^3-7 Every year this man went from his hometown up to Shiloh to worship and offer a sacrifice to God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served as the priests of God there. When Elkanah sacrificed, he passed helpings from the sacrificial meal around to his wife Peninnah and all her children, but he always gave an especially generous helping to Hannah because he loved her so much, and because God had not given her children. But her rival wife taunted her cruelly, rubbing it in and never letting her forget that God had not given her children. This went on year after year. Every time she went to the sanctuary of God she could expect to be taunted. Hannah was reduced to tears and had no appetite.

⁸ Her husband Elkanah said, “Oh, Hannah, why are you crying? Why aren’t you eating? And why are you so upset? Am I not of more worth to you than ten sons?”

^9-11 So Hannah ate. Then she pulled herself together, slipped away quietly, and entered the sanctuary. The priest Eli was on duty at the entrance to God’s Temple in the customary seat. Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably. Then she made a vow:

Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
If you’ll take a good, hard look at my pain,
If you’ll quit neglecting me and go into action for me
By giving me a son,
I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you.
I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline.

^12-14 It so happened that as she continued in prayer before God, Eli was watching her closely. Hannah was praying in her heart, silently. Her lips moved, but no sound was heard. Eli jumped to the conclusion that she was drunk. He approached her and said, “You’re drunk! How long do you plan to keep this up? Sober up, woman!”

^15-16 Hannah said, “Oh no, sir—please! I’m a woman hard used. I haven’t been drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer. The only thing I’ve been pouring out is my heart, pouring it out to God. Don’t for a minute think I’m a bad woman. It’s because I’m so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I’ve stayed here so long.”

¹⁷ Eli answered her, “Go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you have asked of him.”

¹⁸ “Think well of me—and pray for me!” she said, and went her way. Then she ate heartily, her face radiant.

¹⁹ Up before dawn, they worshiped God and returned home to Ramah. Elkanah slept with Hannah his wife, and Godbegan making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had asked.

Dedicating the Child to God

²⁰ Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining, “I askedGod for him.”

^21-22 When Elkanah next took his family on their annual trip to Shiloh to worship God, offering sacrifices and keeping his vow, Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll bring him myself and present him beforeGod—and that’s where he’ll stay, for good.”

^23-24 Elkanah said to his wife, “Do what you think is best. Stay home until you have weaned him. Yes! Let God complete what he has begun!”

So she did. She stayed home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Then she took him up to Shiloh, bringing also the makings of a generous sacrificial meal—a prize bull, flour, and wine. The child was so young to be sent off!

^25-26 They first butchered the bull, then brought the child to Eli. Hannah said, “Excuse me, sir. Would you believe that I’m the very woman who was standing before you at this very spot, praying to God? I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for. And now I have dedicated him to God. He’s dedicated to God for life.”

Then and there, they worshiped God. I Samuel 1 :1-28 The Message


two blog posts that have really ministered to me in suffering:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/homeschoolchronicles/2013/03/on-the-way-to-easter-mourning-with-jesus/ http://natepyle.com/confronting-the-lie-god-wont-give-you-more-than-you-can-handle/