Have you ever been in a place where you felt so broken-hearted you couldn’t function? You feel so burned-out and discouraged that it doesn’t feel like you will ever be happy again? Do you need fresh hope to be able to move forward again?
Over the last few months, several ladies have told me that they feel this way. I get it. I’ve been there. When we went through our tough season about two years ago, I had days where I just didn’t feel like I could go on. You can read about our story HERE. The great news is that we’re not alone. We find Hannah from I Samuel in this exact situation.
Hannah’s Heartbreak
Hannah so desperately wanted a baby, but she was infertile. The Bible says she was “crushed in soul” in one Bible version and “in bitterness of soul” in another version. Both of those descriptions give us an idea of how she was handling this hardship.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, her husband’s second wife is extremely fertile and relentlessly taunts her. Can you imagine? It’s one thing to be in pain, but to have someone else mock you while you’re in pain? That’s terrible! Hannah uses these words to describe herself- desperately unhappy and in such pain.
Hannah and her husband and his other wife head to Shiloh to worship God. While there, Hannah is so broken-hearted that she can’t eat. She decides to go into the temple and spend some time alone, praying.
The priest sees her and talks to her. She tells him about her pain. He tells her that God hears her prayer, and may God grant her her request.
Hannah’s Change of Heart
Don’t miss this next part. Hannah heads back to where everyone is eating dinner and eats heartily. The Bible says her countenance changed; she was no longer sad. Why? Why did her countenance change? Because she left her burden with God. She trusted Him to provide for her and to give her her heart’s desire. What incredible faith!
Before the end of the year, Hannah gave birth to a son. She called him Samuel. After Samuel grew old enough to take care of himself, she took her son back to the temple to serve God as she had promised God she would do. Samuel went on to be an incredible prophet for the people of God.
Fresh Hope
After Hannah gives birth to a baby boy, she says these words: “God rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope.” (I Samuel 2:6 MSG) I love this verse. Only God can take a burned-out life and fill it with fresh hope.
What can we learn from Hannah’s example? How did Hannah go from “bitterness of soul” to being filled with peace and no longer being sad? How do you go from feeling burned-out to being filled with fresh hope?
I believe there are five things Hannah did that we can also do to find fresh hope.
1. Find a place where you can be alone.
When the pain is too intense, sometimes the best thing we can do is find a time to be alone. Hannah got up from the dinner and went into the temple, alone to pray. Where can you find a place to be alone?
- Get up early, before anybody else gets out of bed.
- Go to a coffee shop.
- Take a drive by yourself.
- Go to the park.
2. Find a place away from your normal place.
Sometimes we need to find a place that gets us away from the distractions all around us. Hannah didn’t find hope in her home; she found it when she went into the temple.
- Get out of town; go somewhere to get away from the distractions at home.
- Find a quiet place to sit at the beach or by water to be able to sit and reflect.
- Find a place that brings you peace.
3. Pour out your heart to God.
Hannah wept before God and poured out her heart to Him.
- Once you’re alone and away from where you normally spend time, talk to God about what you’re going through.
- Write out your feelings, fears, and hurts to God in a journal.
4. Leave Your Burdens with God.
Hannah wept and prayed. Then she dried her tears and prepared to go back to dinner. She no longer carried her heavy burden.
- I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (KJV) God wants us to give our burden to Him and leave it with Him.
- We weren’t made to carry our own burdens. Give it over to God and let Him worry about it for you.
- Trust that He is going to come through for you.
5. Praise Him.
The entire second chapter of I Samuel is Hannah’s praise to God. She can’t get over how God answered her prayer and came through on her behalf.
- When God comes through, praise Him.
- Tell others about what God has done for you.
- Write it down in a journal, so you don’t forget God’s goodness to you.
If we follow Hannah’s example through these five steps, we can find fresh hope for our burned-out life. We can leave our burden with God and fully trust that He will come through on our behalf.
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