I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD.
Hannah was doing what the psalmist would later commend, "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him" (see Psalm 62:8). She chose to pour out her heart to God rather than accept substitute consolation from the world, such as wine or liquor. Because of this she was open to the sober intoxication of the consoling Spirit of God. Her plea did not immediately find sympathy with many others, even people such as Eli who were God's representatives. But when she met with this obstacle she neither gave up nor gave in to the temptation treat him disrespectfully. He behaved less than admirably, unbecoming of his position, but she still treated him with the dignity befitting his office.
if you give your handmaid a male child,
I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives;
In her initial sadness about her apparent barrenness she probably had no intention of giving the child to the Lord through something like a lifelong Nazarite vow. The cynical among us might suggest that such a promise was really a last ditch effort to have anything rather than nothing, to settle for less than keeping the child for herself, but more than not having one at all. But perhaps it was rather a sign of growing spiritual maturity, which was caused by a regular habit of making her requests known to God and trusting in his providence. Many of us would likely be happy to receive what we asked, but then take it and run, with no further reference to God. But somehow in the waiting and the praying Hannah's trust in God seemed to grow. She could not control or manipulate the outcome before she attained it, and somehow realized that even if and when she did receive it, the ultimate destiny of her child was better entrusted to God than herself. We may safely hope this didn't mean the child was raised without a mother or anything like that, but rather that God was given a priority in his life that he would not have had otherwise.
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
The demonic influences within us always suggest that God is against us, and that, if we really give ourselves to him, it will be hurtful and possibly destructive. But the only things God ever destroys within us are our chains, chains of sin and addiction. He does indeed help us to put the old self to death, but only so that we can experience the true life that is his gift. Our ego looks on God with the same suspicion that made Adam and Eve question whether God really had their best interests at heart. But once that suspicious part of us is well and truly dead we our hearts can rest in the peace of knowing God's providence, just as Hannah did. After we know it we may experience a similar change of countenance, after which she "no longer appeared downcast". Let us return to Psalm 62 as an exhortation to us today:
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Songs In His Presence - Trust Him (Psalm 62)
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