Untitled Sermon

I. Being A Mother Can Come With Heavy Burdens

A. The pressure of meeting expectations

Having children

Resisting animosity

Godly desire of having children

Submitting to a husband

Making God a priority in life

Everyone has an idea of what an ideal mother should be

Let God define it

B. The pressure of being strong on the outside

Life can be an emotional roller coaster

Vs. 7-8, Vs. 9-10

Others can contribute to that emotion

Peninnah obviously did

Eli unknowingly did - Vs. 12-14

Some people just know how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time

Vs. 13-16

Sometimes it’s hard to put into words the pressure a mother feels

The pressure from the outside is strong

The pressure of meeting expectations is often stronger

You feel you have to bear down and carry the burden

D. God is the only One truly capable of helping you bear the burdens

Vs. 12 - Hannah knew her only hope was in God

Vs. 17-18

Husbands can’t do for you what God can

Children can’t do for you want God can

Hannah was at peace apart from what Elkanah did and before she had children

Which lets us know it’s possible to have peace that isn’t dependent on your husband or children

Transition: They left and went home, then God blessed Hannah with a baby

Vs. 19-20

Samuel Meaning - “God has heard”

II. Being A Mother Can Help A Child Reach Their Highest Potential

They say that a father’s greatest contribution to a child is authority. And a child needs authority.

But a mother’s greatest contribution to a child is influence. Which is, honestly, stronger than authority.

Authority can produce certain behavior. But influence is more likely to produce certain character.

A. The highest potential in a child is to become godly

Vs. 21-22

Hannah’s priority was to develop godly character in Samuel.

If you’re a mother, your highest calling is to influence those children for God.

Most of our society views children differently than Hannah

Children are inconvenience

Children are annoying

Children get in the way of my plans

But to God:

Every child is a gift. Psalm 127:3, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

Every child is made in God’s image. Gen. 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image.”

Every child is the object of God’s love. Exodus 21 makes it clear that there is a penalty if someone is responsible for the death of an unborn child. God loves the whole world, including that unborn child.

B. For a mother, the greatest investment a mother can make is to raise her children for God

If they are a gift, and are made in God’s image, and are the objects of God’s love, then there’s no such thing as wasted time when it comes to raising children.

Which is why Hannah gave Samuel to God.

Vs. 12 - Hannah knew the best way to help her son’s life count was to give Him to the Lord

Vs. 22 - Hannah gave Him to the Lord, and she didn’t go back on her word

She was so committed to raising Samuel for God that she said, “Even if he stays at God’s house for the rest of his life, I’m okay with that.”

To tell the Lord, “This child is yours” is no small thing

Giving someone your favorite vehicle. You can’t give it then take it back. You can’t give it then determine what they get to do with it. Once you give it, it’s theirs.

It’s the same way with children. When we recognize that it’s God who gifts us children, the only right response is to say, “They belong to you.”

We’ve done that with all of our children:

Missionaries? They’re God’s

Move across the country? They’re God’s

Go through a trial? They’re God’s

Health issue or tragedy? They belong to Him.

That was Hannah’s mindset

C. Understand something, for a mother, their greatest contribution is to raise a child for God.

But that doesn’t mean if you’re not a mother that you don’t have a contribution.

God’s perfect plan may not include children for. But you can still impact others and help them reach their highest potential in Jesus Christ.

As a child, I was impacted for the Lord by many women who were not my mom.

Teachers

Friends of parents

Youth Pastor’s wife

Our highest calling is to help others reach their greatest potential in Christ Jesus.

You can do it through giving the Gospel

Teaching a SS class

Investing in someone through discipleship

D. Mom or not, at the root of this is a heart for people to find and follow God.

That was Hannah’s heart.

Vs. 23-28 - Hannah’s primary concern was to prepare Samuel for a life that pleased God.

And she did a great job at it.

She worked through the burdens.

She impacted her son for God.

He, in turn, impacted a nation for God.

And by the time Hannah left Samuel, what should have been the hardest day of her life actually produced maybe her greatest joy.

III. Being A Mother Can Produce Joy That Few Other Things Can

A. Vs. 1-11 - By the time Hannah has sung this prayerful song to the Lord, she is leaving full.

Does it mean she had no troubles? No, she deal with many sorrows.

Does it mean life wasn’t crazy? This whole prayer is a roller coaster ride.

The one that are strong are made weak. The weak become strong.

The hungry get filled and the filled become hungry.

The barren have children and those with many children become weak.

The Lord lifts up and pushes down.

The Lord judges from one end of the earth to the other.

What being a mother has taught Hannah is - no matter how low or how high things get, God can produce joy in us anyway.

Hannah left Samuel and went home, and she was at peace.

B. Being a mother produced joy for Hannah for years

Chapter 2:18-19 - One thing we’ve discovered is that raising children gets sweeter as they get older.

It goes from an authoritative or adversarial relationship to one of fellowship.

And you know the older Samuel got, the sweeter the relationship with his mom was.

When you work through the burdens and you raise them for God, there comes a time that it produces a joy you could’t experience any other way.

3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

I know not every child grows up and walks in truth. Pray for those children. But when they do, it produces joy like few things can.

C. Doing it right engages God’s blessings on parents.

Chapter 2:21 - God wasn’t done with Hannah having children. He blessed them with more.

And we’re not told this, but I have a feeling that Hannah died a happy mama.

She raised a son who impacted God’s kingdom. Had the ear of the kings. And is even mentioned in Hebrews 11, the hall of faith.

And I believe it all goes back to Hannah deciding, when the burdens were heavy, to, by faith, just do what she was supposed to do.

To wake up and trust God day by day.

In the end:

Son made difference for God

Joy that can only be produced when you do things right for God