Since you're at rGroup right now, it's safe to say that Jesus is probably part of your life. There are probably times where God is even the most important or top priority in your life, too. But in order to experience real spiritual growth, we need to place God at the center of our lives and let everything else extend from Him. He's the hub of the wheel, and everything else is going on in our lives flows from who we are in Him.
Hannah's story in 1 Samuel 1 shows us the healthy picture of how God is at the center of everything.
Context: Each year, Elkanah would take his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah, to Shiloh to present a sacrifice to God and worship the Lord at the Tabernacle there. And every year it was the same for Hannah: the same insulting comments from Peninnah; the same emptiness that her husband could never fill. She walked away with her deepest desire unmet. She desired children, but God had not opened her womb.
Childbearing was a very important part of Middle Eastern culture during the Old Testament times. Children were a source of labor for the family and a sign of success for the women who bore them. Having no children was a sign of failure, so Hannah was a marked woman, a social outcast, a loser.
Let's read Hannah's story, and discuss 4 ways she demonstrated real spiritual growth.
Read Vs 1–5.
4 Ways to Grow:
1. Trust in God
Vs 5 - God had a different plan than Hannah, so Hannah trusted God.
What does it mean to trust God?
What's the difference between passive trust and active trust?
Give an example of a scenario in which you are fully trusting God with right now.
Just because you're facing hardships, it doesn't mean you're not where God wants you to be.
When God's in the center of our lives, our faith is focused and doesn't shift easily. That's a sign of growth.
2. Communicate with God
Vs 9–11 - Hannah went to the temple (the dwelling place of the presence of God). She didn't hold it within, turn to others, rely on coping mechanisms, or her own abilities and intellect. She went to God.
Why should we always go to God first?
When we don't communicate with God, what does that reveal about our spiritual health?
Why do you think that so many Christians struggle to see God as a personal reality in their lives?
What counsel would you give to a Christian who finds themselves lured to distractions when they're trying to pray?
When you understand and see God for who He truly is, what happens to you when you enter into His presence? And how does that change you?
3. Trust in God's timing
Vs 12–16 - Hannah's been asking, knocking, and seeking God for a long time! Her prayer had fervency, repetition and urgency behind it. It wasn't impatient, or one-and-done.
Vs 17–20 - God gave Hannah peace FIRST, even before He answered her prayer. Why?
Do you know people who exude peace? If you know their story, what can you learn from them?
What's the correlation between God's purposes and His timing?
What's the consequential difference between impatiently complaining and intentionally learning? What's the spiritual difference between those?
4. Keep Your Commitments to God
Vs 26–28 - Hannah followed through with her sacrificial commitment to God.
Do you think that Hannah's commitment to God had anything to do with why she received the blessing from God?
What commitments have you made to God?
What commitments do you need to make to God right now?
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