This Week's Focal Passage:
“No one is holy like the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.”
1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This verse is part of Hannah’s prayer when she brought Samuel to the tabernacle to dedicate him to the Lord God. We first meet Hannah at the door post of the tabernacle pouring her heart out to the Lord. Her heart is broken because she is unable to bear children. Why the door post of the tabernacle? The door post was the entrance to worship. Hannah brought her sorrow and her heart’s desire to the Lord and offered them up to Him trusting Him with the outcome of her plea. God did grant Hannah her heart’s desire and Hannah brings Samuel back to that doorpost and offers him to the Lord.
This past month, the Lord has really been challenging me with His Word. It seems that every time I open the Word of God, listen to a sermon, or prepare notes to teach, God continues to bring me back to this one question: Do you value ME above all else? Most Christians would immediately answer that question with a hearty AMEN or YES!! But, before we answer that question, let’s take a moment to really ask God to search our hearts and allow Him to reveal to us our heart’s true desire. Are you ready?
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). It is very difficult not to get distracted by the fame and fortune of this world. There are so many things bidding for our time, attention, affection, and loyalties. Everywhere we look there are beautiful new cars, homes, clothes, and jewelry. There are positions of prestige that we can work our way up to in our careers. There are sporting events that we can excel in if we pour ourselves into the training and the time to sharpen our skills. There are ministry opportunities that allow us to present our gifts and talents. There are many ways that we can present ourselves to the world and receive the praise and acceptance of man but is that what truly satisfies to the very depth of our souls?
Think about that question a moment. Even if those achievements or possessions bring momentary attention and man’s praise, do they ever really reach the very depth of our soul with satisfaction? If they did, then once we had achieved our primary goal, there would be no reason to seek or strive for more of the world’s fame and/or fortune. Everyone would set a goal, work toward that goal, obtain that goal and be fully and completely satisfied to stop right there and enjoy life to the fullest without ever looking around and wanting more!! My Friend, I am learning that there is nothing that this world has to offer that even remotely satisfies my soul.
Over the past several months, the Lord has been drawing me deeper into His Word and revealing to me the sinfulness of my heart. I struggle with the desire for earthly things and I have to constantly guard myself from these things. I am also enticed to follow the world’s system regarding my marriage and my relationship with my husband. You see, I am a very strong-willed person and I like to be in control. It is very difficult for me to submit to my husband’s authority and to be content in submitting. God has been, and continues to be, very gracious to me by not allowing my husband to give into my demands and allow me to “lead” our home. God continues to teach me about honoring Him in my relationship with Glen and in my calling as a mother. This is not an easy task for me but I can assure you that I have never been more content or more satisfied than I am when I am living in a way that honors the Lord and follows His design marriage.
The same is true for any one of us not matter what our position in life may be. Whether we are male or female, young or old, rich or poor, sick or well, married or single, with children or without, working outside or inside our homes, God calls us to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “And God spoke these words, saying: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before ME” (Exodus 20:1-3). What was happening to the Hebrew people in the land of Egypt? They were slaves in that land and the Lord God brought them out of their captivity. I love this passage of Scripture because it is exactly what God has done for us. HE has brought us out of the bondage of sin!!! “…That our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6).
If this does not excite your soul and bring you to your knees praising the Lord God for His mercy, His grace, His forgiveness, His compassion, His love, His holiness, His faithfulness, then bow before Him and allow Him to search your heart!!! There is NOTHING more valuable or praiseworthy than the Lord God Himself. Sin separates man/woman from God for all eternity. If we are not freed from our sin, then we will die in our sin. If we die in our sin, then we will face the full wrath of God and be sentenced to an eternity of separation from Him. We will never see His face, worship at His feet, walk with Him under His wing, or see the fullness of His glory. Yes, hell is full of suffering, pain, and torment but the worst thing about hell is that Jesus is not there!!! Do you truly desire to be where Christ Jesus is? Do you truly desire Him above all things? Is HE the most valuable thing in your life? As you answer, be careful not to answer so that man will hear and give you praise. “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b). “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Nothing is hidden from the Lord God. HE sees the true condition of the heart and we cannot fool Him by doing or saying the right things. When we stand before Him, HE will judge us according to our true spiritual conditions.
Reread our focal passage. “No one is holy like the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation” (1 Samuel 2:2). Hannah understood who God is and who she was. Hannah loved and valued the Lord God above anything that this world could offer. Hannah even loved the Lord God more than she loved herself. Hannah loved the Lord God more than she loved the very son she had begged God to give her. We first meet Hannah at the door post pouring her heart out to God and asking for a child. We next see Hannah with her son at the door post and she is offering Samuel to the Lord God and praising the Lord for the privilege of bearing a son and bringing him to the Lord. My Friend, is that our heart today? Do we truly value and desire the Lord God above all things?
This week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. The heart of a man/woman is revealed in the things that he/she is thankful for. We, like Hannah, will stand at the doorpost one day. What will Christ see when HE looks deep within our hearts? “Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:7-10).
