We celebrate Mother’s Day every year, so let’s look at one mother from the pages of the Bible. Our lives often seem incomplete. We want something very much, and we don't seem to be able to be content without it. Some times this lack of contentment is what the Bible calls covetousness--wanting something other than what God has ordained for us. Some times, however, God is giving us a desire for something in His will, and even though we have the desire, God has not ye t given us what He wants to give us.

The story of Hannah is a story about a Godly woman who wanted to have children, but she was unable to conceive. Her identity was probably tied up with having children since there were few opportunities for women to make a name for themselves in other ways. Most women found a sense of identity by being a wife and by having children and raising them. For some women, being unable to have children was like having no purpose, or having no identity in life. As our story deve lops, we see that Hannah's barrenness was made even worse because she was one of two wives, and the other wife had many children and ridiculed Hannah because she was unable to conceive. So Hannah sought the Lord, asking Him to give her a child promising that she would give the child back to God as His servant if He would grant her request.

God heard her prayer, and she conceived and gave birth to Samuel, one of the truly great prophets and leaders in the Old Testament. As she had promised, she gave Samuel back to God by taking him to live at the Temple of God when he was old enough to be weaned (probably about three or four years old). God blessed Hannah again--she had six children after Samuel.

It is interesting to compare Hannah's story with stories of other women in the Bible, like Sarah, like Samson's mother, and like Mary. All of these women experienced "God Intervened" conceptions: Sarah had been barren for most of her life and then conceived in her old age; Samson's mother was barren until an angel appeared to her; Mary was still unmarried when the angel appeared to her to tell her that she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

There are three things to consider based on our study.

• First, what are you unhappy about? Are you discontent because you want something that God has not planned for you, or are you in that period of time when God is asking you to be patient until the time of promise is complete?

• Second, it is good to ask God to take care of the problem that is making us discontent, but do so understanding that He may have a different plan in mind. Whether He says yes or no to our request, we need patience. God will act in His own time.

• Third, when God says yes to our requests, He does so in order for us to be better servants for Him. That means that we should be ready to offer back to Him the gift He has given to us. He gave it to us to glorify Himself, not to satisfy our selfish desires.

Borrowed from the Internet and edited by Bill Watkins