Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Annunciation to Virgin Mary

1 Samuel 2:1-11

v1 “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord, my horn[a] is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.”

If you did not know how to swim, would you jump into the deep end of a pool? Probably not unless you had some sort of flotation device or some other way of guaranteeing that you wouldn’t drown. Yet, if a young child sees their father with open arms in the pool, inviting them to jump in, the child will jump in without a second thought. The child knows that their dad will catch them.
Trusting in God is not always an easy process. Sometimes our prayers take a while to get answered and it may feel like we’re drowning, but we must have faith that God is there to “catch us.” In today’s passage we read about Hannah, a woman who longed for a child for years but was barren. After years of praying, God answered her prayer and blessed her with a baby boy, Samuel. 
It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for Hannah to leave her son with Eli, knowing he will never live with her again. Yet Hannah’s prayer still starts off by giving thanks to and praising God. Hannah says “My heart rejoices in the Lord.” reminding us that even when we don't have anything to rejoice in, we can rejoice in the Lord. 
Hannah’s prayer shows her confidence and trust in God. She knew that Samuel did not belong to her, but was a gift from God. She knew that she was leaving Samuel in God’s hands. Thus she can confidently rejoice in the Lord and praise his name. 
This week we have been focusing on the theme “Annunciation to Virgin Mary.” There are many similarities between Mary’s Song of Praise in Luke 1 and Hannah’s Prayer in 1 Samuel 2. Like Hannah, Mary also had to trust in God in a less than ideal circumstance. She too rejoices in the Lord saying “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” 
Let us strive to be like Hannah and Mary and trust in God and rejoice in Him. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask that you help us to put our trust in you. Help us remember that even when we have nothing to rejoice in, even when it feels like we are drowning, we can rejoice in you and you will be there to catch us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 


Thought for the Day
“In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.” Psalms 33:21


Riya Varughese, St Andrews MTC, NY

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