Is Worship Always Happy?
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1 Samuel 1:1-18
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Reflect
Hannah prayed with her lips. She moved her lips as she cried out to God, but no sound came forth. To the high priest Eli, she looked like a drunken woman with tears streaming down her face. Her supplication to God was not evident to the onlookers, but it was real to her. She was speaking to God in her heart. Her worship was coming from a place of brokenness. It wasn’t coming from a “heart filled with joy for the goodness of God” but it was worship nonetheless. It is important that you do not let the outside world affect how you worship God.
Do not let religion or religious leaders try to mold you into what they think worship to God should be. Eli no doubt thought less of Hannah’s worship. Why? Because Eli wasn’t Hannah. He’d never walked in Hannah’s shoes, nor had he undergone Hannah’s struggles. He neglected that worship manifests itself in different ways. The crux of the issue is that you must take personal responsibility for your walk with Christ and worship with a full heart. There are some who shout amens and hallelujahs as they worship the Lord. There are some who raise their hands. Yet, there are also those who get up before sunrise and get alone in God’s Word. There are those who spend their commute time in communion with the Lord. There are some who simply weep as Hannah did here.
Remember
God created you to worship and glorify him. Worship doesn’t always have to be a happy occasion. It can come from a place of joy or a place of heartbreak. Pour out your soul to the Lord and he will pour out a blessing upon you. By no means am I promoting health and wealth doctrine here. Blessing may not always come as a physical manifestation in your life. Sometimes God gives us a blessing by providing spiritual rest in the trial we are facing. That is exactly what we see here.
Proper worship will always lead to renewed peace. We see in verse 10 that Hannah was bitter and wept sore before the Lord. By verse 18 her countenance was no longer sad. Hannah began burdened, but she went away with a renewed sense of peace. A key part of worship, regardless of the form it takes in your life, is reminding yourself of the sovereignty of God over the situations that you face, She gave the burden to God and trusted Him. We can do the same today.
This article originally appeared on Fill in the Gap.
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