…Hannah stood up.
I’ve never really seen this phrase before. It seems to come out of nowhere, yet Hannah’s action is a consequence of years of provocation.
Let’s remember the story. Hannah was the wife of Elkanah. But she wasn’t his only wife. In a context unlike our own, Hannah was a product of polygamy. She shared Elkanah with another woman – Peninnah. Furthermore, in a culture that placed wealth, privilege, life, and success on a person’s number of children, Hannah was losing. She had given Elkanah no children, while Peninnah seemed to be very fertile.
Not only was Hannah seeming to suffer from the depression and frustration of a “closed womb,” she was constantly provoked by Peninnah. This troublesome relationship went on year after year until Hannah was so depressed and broken down that she couldn’t eat and constantly wept about her painful reality (1Samuel 1:1-20)
This was Hannah’s reality until she stood up. She had enough and stood up. She was tired of her pain and she stood up. She was done being provoked and ridiculed. She stood up! She was done with the depression. She was done feeling sorry for herself. She stood up…and went straight to her knees. Hannah came to the end of herself and to the beginning of God.
There are seasons of life where we come to the end of our ability. Hopefully these are the very seasons that drive us to a deeper place of surrender. I cannot…but God can. Often these seasons arrive after long periods of frustration, pain, brokenness, and maybe even some ridicule. The time before we come to a place of surrender may find us filled with self-doubt and devastated self-worth.
Hannah offers a beautiful portrait of strength. She is tired of her present reality. She wants change – not just for herself but for the people she loves. I also suspect she wants God to be honored with her future.
Hannah comes to the end of herself and to the beginning of what God can do. This is a remarkable picture of maturity. Hannah speaks to me about moving from a life of brokenness into the full and abundant life of God. And the one act that separates the two realities happens when Hannah stands up and say’s “enough is enough!” I am tired of existing in my current status. I want a better future. So she stands up and goes straight to her knees believing that God is the one who changes our story.
Where do you need to stand up today? What are you tired of living with? What are you tired of permitting? What are the habits or cycles that you’re done with for the last time? Where have you reached the limits of your abilities? Remember the definition of insanity – if we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we always got. Stand up! And go straight to your knees.
In chapter 2, Hannah offers a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has done to change her reality. In that pray she pronounces a new path, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my [strength] is lifted high…there is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no rock like our God.”
Stand up today and surrender your current reality to God’s best future for you. Remember what Jesus said, “the thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I have come that you may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
Ron Geisler/Rebound Life Coaching 