Surrendering Your Burden

In 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah and his two wives went to Shiloh to sacrifice to the Lord as they had done for years. Hannah carried the burden of barrenness. She was shamed for not providing children to her husband. As her husband sacrificed each year, she felt it acutely. Elkanah offered her the best portion of meat and even a double portion, but she could not be consoled. To make matters worse, verse 7 says, “So it happened year after year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, Peninnah provoked her; so she wept and would not eat” (AMP). Even though she was in despair, she never gave up hope and she trusted the Lord.

She stood in the Tabernacle in her distress and prayed as she wept. The words wouldn’t come out of her mouth, but the Lord heard her heart. The priest Eli saw her and approached her. After their discussion, he told her to go in peace. That day, she gave her burden to the Lord. Verse 18 says, “So the woman went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” Her entire demeanor changed even though her circumstances had not. She got up early the next morning and joined her husband to go worship the Lord before returning home. It was obvious she had surrendered her burden and allowed the Lord to carry it as they left Shiloh. The next year, she gave birth to a son named Samuel.

Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).” What burden is weighing you down and affecting your life? What would it look like to surrender and release it to the Lord? Hannah’s entire demeanor and actions changed showing she fully surrendered hers to the Lord. She trusted Him despite still being in the same situation she was when she entered the Tabernacle. Casting your burden on the Lord is an act of faith and trust. Whether God answers the way you want or not, surrendering your burden is also surrendering your will to His as you trust His plan over yours.

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