The Weight of Grief

 By Alistair Begg

She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head” … Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

1 Samuel 1:10-11, 1 Samuel 1:18

When we cannot see the way forward in life, we must look up to our God. This is what Hannah did. Her childlessness meant she bore a weight of grief, which was compounded by being provoked by Peninnah, her husband’s second wife, who had given birth to many children (1 Samuel 1:4, 6), and by her husband’s insensitive and thoughtless questions (v 8). When we are facing trial or grief, Hannah serves as our example first in what she did not do. She did not become resentful toward God, nor did she seek vengeance against her rival, Peninnah. Instead, she removed herself from the environment that provoked her sense of disappointment and placed herself in the presence of the one who holds the answers. She brought her tears, her sighs, her longings—all expressions of her sad heart—before God. As Hannah prayed, she was not attempting to induce God’s favor with a promise. Hannah recognized God as majestic and sovereign and herself as His servant. She simply asked God to do for her what He had done for His people in the past. After Hannah brought her grief to the Lord, but before her prayer was answered, her appetite returned and her countenance changed. In other words, the resolution for Hannah was not in her pregnancy or the subsequent arrival of a child but in the fact that she had cast her anxieties on the Lord. That was what settled her spirit and lightened her step. Psalm 73 recounts the difficulties the psalmist faced which caused him nearly to lose his faith. He knew God was good and looked after His people—but his experience seemed to differ. That all changed, though, when he came before God in his desperation: “When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God” (Psalm 73:16-17). For both Hannah and the psalmist, peace and understanding came as they brought their griefs and troubles into the sanctuary—into the very presence of God Himself. When you encounter difficult circumstances that provoke you and test your belief in God’s goodness, where do you go? Do you submerge yourself beneath your troubles? Or do you enter the sanctuary of God’s presence in prayer? When you face distress, cry out to God, in whose presence you stand because of the finished work of Christ. As you remember that He is sovereign and good and acts on behalf of His people, you can pray with confidence and boldness and experience the peace that comes only from above—even before you see how He will answer your prayer.