The Point of Crying Out

The Point of Crying Out
Words of Faith 7-29-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 1
[1] There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. [2] He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
[3] Year after year, this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. [4] Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. [5] But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. [6] And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. [7] This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. [8] Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

The story of God's grace always begins at a point of need, and the story of His redeeming love always starts in a heart that aches. This chapter in the story of God's people was no different.
As we begin the story of the Monarchy of Israel, we have a family wracked with conflict. We have a husband trying to please God and two wives all at the same time. Try that. We have two wives who are jealous for different reasons-- the first because she had no children and the other because she had no love from her husband. Bigamy seems strange, but it was the answer for a childless couple family in the ancient world. It was not something directed by God, and it created many problems! Yet, God would raise a great leader out of this troubled family.
And was leadership ever needed! During the time of the Judges, the people's political, moral, and spiritual lives hit rock bottom. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were "priests of the Lord," but only in name. They were terribly corrupt. Eli allowed his sons to do whatever they wanted to the point that they were sleeping with the women serving at the Tent of Meeting entrance, the Temple's predecessor. What a mess!
Elkanah, Hannah, and Peninnah had no "church resources" for counseling. Elkanah continued to make offerings each year to the Lord and probably wondered all the time-- "How did I get into this mess?" Peninnah felt the emptiness of not being loved by her husband and took it out on Hannah. Elkanah responded by feeding her twice as much food as Peninnah. Hannah hit the point of great depression and stopped eating.
Elkanah may sound deeply concerned as he asks: "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" But there is more than a bit of frustration here. The Hebrew word translated as "downhearted" means grieved, but it also means grievous. Elkanah was probably at his "wit's end." The root word here means "spoiled," "displeasing," or "good for nothing." We might translate: "Why are you so displeased in this grief state? Why are you 'good for nothing' in your depression?"
So what do you do when a family is a mess, and the leaders of the spiritual community and nation are worse? Perhaps you cry out to God. That is what we will see.
The truth is that there are some situations that no seminar can fix and no counselor can heal. When we do things "our own way," we eventually become pretty miserable, and all we can do is cry out to God.
It is also true that this is not such a bad place to be. When we cry out to God in desperation, we discover Him in ways we have never seen before.
How is your life and family? Do you have conflicts that have developed over the years? Do you have rivalries that seem unsolvable? Are you trying to feed the emptiness with the wrong things? Do you feel you have spoiled things and become displeasing or good for nothing? If so, you are in the perfect place to look up and cry out to God. He is there. He is waiting. He is listening. Cry out to Him.

Father God, hear the cry of my heart and my life. Hear the emptiness I have experienced and fill me to overflowing with Your Spirit. Hear the disappointments of my days and lift my spirit. I need Your leadership, Your healing, and Your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.