1 Samuel 1:27-28 // Summer of Scripture

Welcome to Summer of Scripture on the Naked marriage podcast. For 66 days in a row, we are releasing a daily devotional episode for your marriage. And over these 66 days, we're going to pull out one scripture from each of the 66 books of the Bible and talk about how it applies to your marriage. So if you listen to every single one of these episodes, you're going to have a comprehensive understanding of God's plan for your marriage. We encourage you to listen to everyone. Let's dive into today's scripture. Hey, welcome to day nine. We're in the book of First Samuel, and today's passage is spoken by a woman named Hannah, who's a great, great person in Scripture. She had so much faith, she gave birth to Samuel, who became a great prophet. But Hannah wrestled with infertility. And if you've ever had infertility issues or maybe you're dealing with that now, there's so much hope and encouragement I think we can find in Hannah's patience, in her story and her dependence on God and. And in the way that she dedicated her son to the Lord once God miraculously did bring his son to her. So first Samuel, chapter one, verse 27 and 28 says, I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I'm giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life. And they worshiped the Lord there. So Hannah dedicated her son to the Lord. Even in our church today, you know, we do baby dedications really kind of in the model of what Hannah did all those centuries ago, of bringing our child before God and saying, God, we're going to raise. This is your kid. You've entrusted this son or daughter to us. We're so thankful. We commit to raise them, to know you, to love you, and ultimately to help them learn your plans for their lives. We dedicate them, God, to you, and we dedicate ourselves into your service as we raise them. And I think it's a beautiful picture of how we as parents should be.

Yes. And I just want to say, like, our hearts go out to any of you experiencing infertility. I think it's something that can be especially hard on a marriage. You know, it's something, too, where I think we go into that, maybe that season of life of wanting to have children, just not expecting to have trouble. I mean, I don't think anybody goes into that thinking that there's going to be any kind of waiting period. You know, you think, man, I mean, we're two healthy People, and it's just going to happen. And then you see people waiting. There's that first year that passes, and then the second year that passes. And then, you know, maybe you've been tested and you find out maybe there's some infertility issues. And so all of a sudden you're getting these treatments where it involves needles or going to the doctor or having, you know, in vitro fertilization, which is very expensive. I mean, it can take a huge toll on your finances. And we've known people with all these different scenarios. And I just want to say the best thing you can remember during this time is two things I would say. Number one is that your spouse is not your enemy. Because even though you may never say that, you may never actually say anything. Hey, I hope you don't. But maybe deep in your heart, you're seeing them as holding you back from having this child for whatever reason. I mean, I remember a couple in particular years ago that we met where they came to find out that the husband ultimately had a very, very low sperm count to the point where it was going to be like a miracle for them to get pregnant. And I remember in that time, the w. And this was after several years of trying, it just was demoralizing for her. And I think their marriage had already taken a toll and they weren't really working together. And it was like that was the last straw for her. And I remember it just. They went through a really rough season because she looked at him as the person who was holding her back from what she thought, you know, God was calling her to. And that was her number one calling. And her mind and heart was to be a mother. And she just, you know, she kind of hardened her heart towards her husband, and she didn't want to entertain, you know, adoption or doing some of these treatments that they want to do to increase his sperm count. And so I just wanna say, number one, you cannot look at each other as the enemy. You're not gonna fare as well. You're not gonna do as well in your marriage. And so remember, your relationship has to come first, right? You know, it's got a relationship with God first. But as far as our earthly relationships, it's our marriage. And so don't look at them, don't look at each other as the enemy or as that person who's keeping you from what you really want. And number two, remember that God's timing is better than our timing. I can't tell you how many times I've known people go through infertility and then ultimately they felt like God was leading them to adoption and then later on become pregnant. And sometimes they're like, man. And they laugh about it because they're like, we wouldn't have. We wouldn't have considered adoption had we gotten pregnant and been able to have kids biologically. But thank God, you know, God's timing is better because I don't know what we'd do without this adopted child that we love so much, as if we could have birthed this child. And so just remember that God's timing is so different and it's so much better than our own. And I know it's never what we want. He's never as fast as we want him to work, but his timing is perfect. And he will, you know, in the waiting, which can be just excruciating for people, I do think that it's a time that you can grow more than you would have without that time of waiting. And I just would encourage you to. In that time of waiting, really getting to know the Lord more, getting to know each other more. And I just wanna say this too. If God put that desire in both of your hearts to have children, you're gonna have children one way or another. You may have children biologically, you may have children through adoption. And, you know, you just never know how God's going to form your family. But if he gave you that desire to have children home, to be a parent, he is going to fulfill it. And I just encourage you to keep on trusting him in the process.

So. Good. One other lesson from the book of First Samuel is when Samuel was a young boy dedicated to God and trying to live for God, God started speaking to Samuel in a really unique way.

Yes.

And Samuel didn't recognize it at first. He didn't know who he thought it was like somebody else, like, calling out to him. And I think through that story, we see so much that God's trying to speak to all of us. Maybe not in an audible way. I've certainly never heard God speak audibly, but in so many ways. Through scripture, through circumstances, through our prayers, through the encouragement of others, God is trying to. He's speaking to all of us. But we need to make sure that we're making room for his voice in our lives. And so if you're looking for a word from the Lord right now, if you're in a place across roads and you're praying about something, whether it's a fertility issue or maybe something completely different, just make room for God to speak, get alone with him. You know, get alone in His Word, get alone in prayer, turn the phone off for a while. Make room in this noisy world for all the other voices to be able to die down, so that you can hear those whispers from God in your spirit, so that you can sense His Word and His truth coming through every word of scripture. And even what you're doing right now, listening to this devotional podcast, this is part of that. And so thank you for making that investment of time and learning more about the Lord. And we encourage you to stay on this journey with us through all 66 days, all 66 books of the Bible. And I think by the end of it, all of us are going to feel closer to the Lord and more in tune with his voice in our lives. So thanks for tuning in, guys. We'll see you tomorrow.