"It is not by strength that one prevails..."

"It is not by strength that one prevails...", Hannah praised God with those words at Shiloh as she left her only child there -dedicated to the Lord's service. In her song of praise, she reflects on the deliverance and might of God. What do we have that He has not given us? Hannah knew that she was the recipient of God's blessing. When her own frail body refused to produce a child, she asked the Lord and 'the Lord remembered her'. She conceived and gave birth to Samuel.

Hannah reminds us that warriors are strengthened and kings are enthroned only by the might of the Lord. Children are born, fed, and clothed by His mercy. He brings poverty and wealth, humility and exaltation. "For the foundation of the earth is the Lord's; upon them He has set the world."
Truly I cannot prevail against this world in my own strength. None of us can. I am only recently reminded of that. My body does not cooperate with my desires. The things I long to do, I cannot do. I am uncomfortably limited and will be for some time. Endeavoring to slog through, persevere, and just grit my teeth - that good old "can do" spirit, well, it seemed to work for a time (a rather long time), But it was a facade. I am physically broken. It is only God's hand that has held me up (and continues to do so). I long to cook for my family, but I cannot. I long to pick up my son and hold him but I cannot. The very ones who I long to serve and care for are having to serve me. My mother has had to come and care for me like a little child. Friends are making our meals and cleaning the bathrooms. And it will be weeks of recovery.
It is humbling and... sacred.
Humbling, obviously -when you can't even bend over to pull up your own pants! But sacred...because I have this opportunity to receive from others. And I hold it like a precious treasure, this gift of their service and mercy...their patience...their acts of kindness and love.
And I actually have all this time to sit and think about it, to ponder their gift.

But I also have time to watch the news.
Which frightens me if I keep it on too long, because it all seems a bit overwhelming. It sure makes my crisis seem insignificant, what with world powers in conflict and all...
And then Mark will come home from work and shake my reality with news about a Memorial service he attended for 13 Marines killed in Afghanistan....and how his heart ached for the families, for the children, those sons and daughters whose Daddies will never come home. He will turn his face away when he is telling me this, because he doesn't want me to see that he is crying and that his day has been heavy with sorrow.
Again I am reminded that it is not by strength that one prevails. Yes, Hannah, you were right. Our own bodies are frail. Our world is bent on destruction. Our warriors fall in battle.
The only hope that we have is this: that the same God who holds the foundation of the world in His hand, is not haphazard. He is not random. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present. He does not change. Hannah's God is still the same.


"He will guard the feet of His saints"















'