The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. – 1 Samuel 2:7

I think we have all had that moment where we wish our circumstances were different. Maybe we were the bullied child in school and wished our bully would be brought down, or perhaps we had a supervisor who persecuted us, and we wished that Human Resources would catch on and fire the person. Whatever the situation, it is almost universal that we would be in a situation in life where we were on the wrong side of a power dynamic.

In today’s verse, Hannah has just had her power dynamic shifted. Previously the barren wife of Elkanah, she has now been blessed with a son. Her status and worth as a woman and a wife would have been based on her ability to bear children, so now she has been transformed from the lowest of women to a position of strength.

A twist of this story that is in the previous chapter is that once she bore him, she gives him back to God for ministry. It is an interesting twist because it reminds us that everything we have belongs to God—we have nothing that is our own. Understanding this is the key to true richness.

As for her son, he became the prophet and judge Samuel. You might have heard of him?

Lord, help us to remember that nothing we own is of our own making—everything we have comes from you. Help us to share our riches that your name might be glorified and your work on earth be magnified. Amen.
-Jen McCabe