Skip to main content

01 Apr 2020 - Rejoice In The Lord


1 Samuel Chapter 2: 1-11

In today’s devotion we read of Hannah’s song of thanksgiving to God, a return of praise; in the abundance of a heart deeply affected (for his favour to her in giving her Samuel and in praise of God’s goodness in her life) 

“My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD.
I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.

It is also recorded that this song is a worship Hannah offered on the very day she left her little Samuel at the tabernacle. Hannah kept her promise because of the love for God. We do not know, of course, how she may have struggled in her heart, but so far as the record goes there was not a moment of hesitation in carrying out her promise to the Lord. On the day she made the biggest sacrifice of her life she rejoices in the LORD. She chooses to praise God than dwell in the sadness. she overlooks the gift, and praises the giver; whereas most often we forget the giver and fasten only on the gift.

For instance, when the first born goes to college, your only son gets married, or the first day your child steps into school, is one of mixed feelings isn’t it? You will have been working up to this day for a while: encouraging them to do their best, and celebrating when they land their place. But there will be apprehension, too. What if they don’t take to their new life? And what about you? What if that empty space at home makes you feel lonely? What would you choose to do?  

When we have nothing else to rejoice in, we can rejoice in the LORD.

The horn is used often as a picture of anointed strength in the Bible (Psalms 98:6). Hannah spoke of strength and power being exalted in the LORD (Vs1). In troubled times as this, our strength comes from the Lord. It’s a supernatural strength that can make you smile at your enemies. Because we rejoice in our salvation (Vs1). Yes, the Lord is our strength and He fills our heart with joy (Ps 28:7)
There is none holy like the LORD (Vs 2): To say the LORD is holy is to say He is completely set apart; that He is unique, and not like any other. He works in ways we don’t understand but He works to guard the feet of His faithful servants (VS 9). Hannah was confident in God’s ability to humble the strong and exalt the weak. This is the confidence we should have.

Let’s ask ourselves today, what keeps us from giving Him control when we know He is strong enough to handle anything?

There is none beside this perfect God, glory is due unto his name, to own not only that there is none like Him, but that there is none besides Him. REJOICE IN THE LORD.

Dear God,
Grant me this spirit to rejoice in you in tough times. I pray; you’ll keep me in that perfect peace which you have assured to those whose hearts are secure in you; and let me feel your presence, that in the hours of stillness I may enjoy the blessed assurance of your love; You are my rock, my strength and Lord. Amen.



Popular posts from this blog

The Danger of Spiritual Infancy (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12)

Have you met people who refuse to grow up? There are some adults who prefer to remain as children because they do not want to take on adult responsibilities. Not only is immature behaviour unpleasant to observe or deal with, the consequences are often destructive. In Hebrews 5:11-14, the writer expresses his frustration that some members of the church were refusing to grow into spiritual maturity. They were no longer trying to understand God’s word (v 11). Instead of taking on the responsibility of teaching others as they themselves had been taught, they needed to be taught the basics all over again (v12). Therefore, they were unable to take on “solid food” which is for mature Christians, and they were not able to distinguish good from evil (v14) or to understand teaching about righteousness (v13). Spiritual maturity is a necessary part of our walk with God. Remaining as a spiritual infant means that you are not good at discerning right from wrong and you will have a hard time maintain

A prophet prophesies and the church fully obeys (Acts 11:27- 12:4)

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. When Jewish believers from Cyprus (Europe) and Cyrene (Liby

THE BLESSINGS OF HIS NAME (Numbers 6:22 - 27

I find this interesting because I remember listening to Pastor Betty’s message for 2021, and it was on the same Benediction Blessing verses. And today’s Scripture reading is exactly the same, and I am sure the Holy Spirit wants to remind us of “The Blessings of His Name” for 2022. Today, our mobile phones are loaded with New Year wishes, TV and radio personalities wish into microphones and cameras – we hear them from so many different sources. Carefully note what God tells us: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.’ So, they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:23-27) In this way, God places His all-important NAME on us, His people. A comparison would be that of signing on a cheque. An unsigned check is void and worthless until the owner ‘s “name” has been pl