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 “ But Peninnah made fun of Hannah because the Lord had closed her womb. [7] Year after year it was the same Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Hannah would finally be reduced to tears and would not even eat.” (1 Samuel 1:6-7 NLT)

 Hannah's life wasn't easy. She shared the affections of her husband with another woman, who teased her unmercifully because Hannah couldn't have children. In a day when the worth of a woman was measured by the number of sons she bore to her husband, Hannah felt worthless. To make it worse, her husband's other wife was prolific.

 Peninnah teased and taunted Hannah until Hannah couldn't eat or function. Hannah was an emotional "basket case." I don’t think she was upset because what she had wasn't good enough.  She was grieved because she didn't feel like she was fulfilling her destiny and living up to her potential.

 Perhaps you weren't homecoming queen or didn't graduate at the top of your class. Maybe you didn't have a prom date, didn't get the leading role in the play or wasn't the star on the football field.

 Maybe your children aren't the cutest, brightest or most athletically inclined. The diamond on your finger may not be as large as the one on the person sitting next to you and you may not have the newest car in the parking lot.

 Cancer may have disfigured your body and disappointment may have scarred your soul, but the sum of all these events have made you the caring, compassionate person that you are. 

No one asks God to send them grief, but it comes, they often find it to be a blessing in itself and the context for receiving other blessings in their lives.

 “It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the LORD.’” (1 Samuel 1:20 NASB95) 

Read to the sermon that corresponds to this devotional.