Filled By God, Not By Things

1 Samuel 1:17-18 (NIV) -

Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your servant find favour in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

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A bit of context regarding today's passage: there is a young woman named Hannah who really wants to have a child but isn't able to. To make matters worse, her husband's other wife is constantly mocking her about it, rubbing it in. In her desperation and grief, she comes to the tabernacle, the tent where God's Presence lived, and begins to pray. She is so hurt, so desperate, so deep in sorrow that the words of her prayer aren't able to make it past her lips - they just get caught in her throat, and though her lips are moving, no sound is coming out. The priest sitting in front of the tent, Eli, sees her and thinks that she's drunk, so tells her to leave, but Hannah explains why she is there - to pour our her soul to the Lord out of her great anguish and grief. (v15-16) After hearing this, Eli responds, which is our verse above.

In reading through this a couple of nights ago, what stood out to me is that Hannah left without knowing whether or not her prayer had been answered, but no longer sad regardless. She didn't know if God was going to give her a child or not, but either way she left with joy because she had spent time pouring her soul out to God and allowing Him to comfort her.

For so long, there had been a hole in her life, one that she thought would only be filled by having a child. But it was only when she brought the hole to God and let Him fill it instead, that she left feeling peace and joy.

Now in this story, God does end up giving Hannah a child. Now that she had let Him fill the void, God was willing to give her what she had been wanting, because that desire would no longer take God's place in her life. In fact, Hannah ended up giving the baby back to God, leaving him in Eli's care so he would grow up serving God and growing in deep relationship with Him. This child grew up to become the prophet Samuel, who anointed Saul and David, as well as the last judge of Israel!

However, not every story ends with God giving us what we were looking for. The more important part of this story is that, whether God had given Hannah a child or not, she was able to walk away from the Presence of God with peace and joy because she had let God fill the gaps in her life.

Perhaps there are things in your life that you feel are missing. For some it might be love, for others security, for others children, for others a sense of identity or self-worth. Whatever it is, there is a hole in your life that you have not been able to fill no matter what you try to put in there. The hole is endless, gaping, all-consuming.

The answer is not to fill it with what you think is missing, because whatever it is will never be enough. Eventually, the very thing that you wanted so desperately will only end up going sour and losing all of its satisfaction, because it didn't do what you wanted it to do. And then you will hate it.

The only thing that can really, truly fill the hole is God. If you will come to Him, pour out your heart and tell Him everything that you've been struggling with, everything you feel like you're missing, your deepest desires and fears, and genuinely lay it at His feet to let Him take it, He will not leave you empty and broken. He will pick you up, put you back together, fill you with His Spirit, and allow you to walk away with a new sense of joy, peace, and life.

Even more amazing than that, we can do it any time, anywhere. Hannah had to go to the tabernacle, but God now lives in the hearts of every single believer. The whole universe is His palace, and you can come be with Him any time you like, wherever you are. There are no more restrictions, not since Jesus died on the cross.

Bring it all to Him today. Lay down your burdens, and take up His joy, peace, and fullness. He has you in His arms, and He will make sure that you come out okay. You just need to let Him.