Leave Concerns Behind

Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:10 nlt

Pause

Hannah lived in crisis for years before it finally reached a climax. While she’d been unable to conceive, her husband’s other wife had borne several children and turned verbally and emotionally abusive toward her. It didn’t help matters that her husband meant well but was clueless about why she felt so distraught.

In desperation, Hannah turned to God. She poured out her heart and held back nothing. “Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18 nlt).

We might turn to God in our despair, too. We might give him our concerns like Hannah did. But sometimes we do something she didn’t do. We say amen and then take our concerns back. For that reason, I don’t welcome women to retreats with the words, “Leave your burdens at the door.” The implication is that we’ll pick them up and carry them with us when we head home. When we give God our problems, let’s leave them with him.

Ponder

Cup your hands as if holding your difficult situation, and give it to the Lord.

Pray

Lord, please grant me the ability to leave my worries on your plate, not mine.