"Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices in the LORD."

I Samuel 2:1, NIV 

 

The books of Ruth and First Samuel show us something that we need to think about more often: God loves us and is faithful to those who love Him. In Ruth we read of a young woman who was widowed at the outset of her marriage. In I Samuel, we read of a woman who, though married for several years, just couldn't have the children she so desperately wanted. 

 

These circumstances are the very types of things that cause many people to simply give up and separate themselves from God, but not Ruth or Hannah. These two devoted women did not respond to their difficulties by becoming more and more bitter, instead, they responded by becoming more and more devoted to God. And God rewarded their love and their faithfulness! 

 

To Ruth, God gave a husband who was not only a good and decent man, but one who would return the love and devotion that she had for him. To Hannah, God gave not only the son whom she prayed for, but an entire family of children.

 

These events are encouraging to us because we have experienced disappointments in our lives. It is good to know that such difficulties need not doom us to lives of hopelessness, because God loves us and has ways of turning even the most difficult times into the foundation for a rich life filled with many blessings. 

 

The only question is, will we trust God enough to accept His will in the good times and the bad. If you will, then prepare yourself for an extraordinary life and an even better eternity!

 

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."

Ephesians 3:20, NIV

 

Today is the seventh day of the 30 Day challenge to read through the Books of the Champions and the Kings, with the Book of Ruth and the first three chapters of I Samuel being the readings for today. May God richly bless your efforts as you continue to live a life of love and faithfulness towards He and His Son!