S9.17 | Hannah's Journey: Trusting in God's Promises Through Deep Despair
Today we're diving into a powerful story from the Bible about Hannah.
This episode explores Hannah's deep struggle with depression due to her infertility and the societal judgment she faced. We'll discuss how, despite her circumstances, she found hope and joy through her faith in God's promises.
If you're in a season of waiting or feeling downcast, this episode is for you. Discover how to trust in God's character and promises, even when you can't see the outcome. So, grab your Bible and join me in this conversation. Let's get started!
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Key Takeaways
Circumstantial Depression:
Carla discusses how Hannah’s depression was situational, tied to her circumstances and the weight she felt by them.
Impact of God’s Promises:
Learn how Hannah’s countenance changed and her depression lifted before she saw any tangible evidence of her prayers being answered.
Encouragement in Faith:
The episode encourages listeners to rejoice in God and trust His promises over their lives, even without visible evidence.
Connect With Carla:
Foundations to Healing—-> https://www.carlaarges.com/renewing-hope
Inquire about 1:1 coaching ---> carlaagreswellness@gmail.com
Come hangout on IG with me @carlaarges
Check out the blog
Resources:
5 Steps to Building Resiliency
Affirming Truths Facebook Community
5 Tips for Overcoming a Negative Body Image
Who You Say I Am Biblical Affirmation Cards
TRANSCRIPT
Carla Arges [00:00:08]:
Hey friends, welcome to affirming truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode. And it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review. I am so glad you're here. Let's get started.
Carla Arges [00:00:35]:
Hey friends. Carla here. Welcome to affirming truth. Thank you for joining me today. I wanted to share something with you that is coming from just such beautiful revelation and inspiration from my current Bible study. So I'm actually doing a Bible study on depression in really looking at how it shows up in the Bible, how God shows up in the midst of it in the Bible, in really looking at what I can take away from that, not just for myself, but in how I can encourage my clients who battle with depression. And I was reading the story of Hannah, and it took on a different meaning when I was looking at it through the lens of depression. So for those of you who don't know, Hannah was Barren.
Carla Arges [00:01:31]:
So she was married to a man. And I might not say his name right. Elkanai. Or Elkanah. We'll say Elkanah. She was married to Elkanah. He loved her, but she was barren. And as hard as that is nowadays to go through that, being barren and wanting to have a baby and dealing with infertility, I know that that is so challenging.
Carla Arges [00:01:59]:
Not only did it have that challenge, but it had even more social significance back then. You were looked on as being judged by God. You were looked on as being intentionally having your womb closed by God as a judgment against your sin. It was an attack on your womanhood and your worth. And it left some women in very difficult situations. If they could not produce children for their husbands. There was actually also an element of safety for their own provision by producing heirs. So here's Hannah, Barren and elk.
Carla Arges [00:02:41]:
And I had another wife who wasn't barren. And she would mock Hannah. She would put Hannah down. She would flaunt her own kids in Hannah, in a prideful way. And Hannah was depressed. She wasn't eating. She had deep anguish, deep grief. She had depression.
Carla Arges [00:03:10]:
And this is likely a circumstantial depression. There's different types of ways that depression shows up, but the circumstance was causing deep depression within her. We see that she goes to the temple and she's just pouring her heart out to God over this problem, over this grief, over this depression, over this anguish. She is so emotive. Her whole body is involved in this prayer. Her anguish is coming out of her in every area. That Eli, the priest, thinks that she's drunk. And he goes over to chastise her, and she's like, no, I'm not drunk.
Carla Arges [00:03:55]:
I'm just full of anguish. I don't have any kids. I'm praying for a son. And Eli says to her in one Samuel 117, Eli answers, go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked for. And then in verse 18, listen to this. She said, may your servant find favor in your eyes. Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. You see Hannah's countenance, Hannah's depression, Hannah's anguish lifted before she had any visible, visible, tangible knowledge that her circumstance was going to change.
Carla Arges [00:04:47]:
She didn't know how or if God was going to answer that prayer. But the God of Israel keeps promises to us. The God of Israel, our goddess, takes care of us. Like we talked about last week. He provides for our needs. And with that hope stirred up and with that hope renewed in her, she goes out in joy and hope. No longer downcast, she ate something. Isn't it lovely how the Bible provides even that small detail? When we know when we're depressed, we can lose our appetite? And one of the, the signs of getting better and one of the things that helps us get better is by properly caring for ourselves.
Carla Arges [00:05:40]:
That's why when Elijah was depressed, God tended to his physical need. He wasn't eating. The angel fed Elijah not just once, but twice. Here we see, she went and she ate something and her face was no longer downcast. I want to challenge you today, friend, to stop waiting for visible evidence that your circumstance is going to change and start right now rejoicing in God and trusting his promise over your life. There are promises in the Bible that we can cling to. God has promised us a hope and a future. God has promised us that we will be overcomers in our trials.
Carla Arges [00:06:24]:
God has promised us to never leave us or forsake us. God has promise to provide for our needs. There are promises in the Bible, but there might have also been promises that God personally gave you. And maybe you have been in a long season of waiting for those promises to come to fruition. Maybe you're like Abraham and Sarah and you're getting tired of the wait. Abraham and Sarah were promised a son by which he would become a father of nations. They got tired of waiting for God's promise. They started to doubt God's promise.
Carla Arges [00:07:04]:
Then they took issues into their own hands and created a whole mess that we still live through today in the middle east. Are you doubting God's promise because he has you in a season of waiting? Listen, God doesn't waste anything. And when we are waiting, he is working. And often what he's working is stuff out in us that needs to be pruned and reshaped so that we are the person we need to be to walk in that promise. You don't have to be downcast or depressed or discouraged because you don't see it yet. Because our God keeps promises. And the God of yesterday is the God of today and the God of tomorrow. He changes nothing.
Carla Arges [00:08:00]:
This is not about what you can see or not see. This is about the character of God. You may be asking God, when is my healing coming? It's coming. God, when is the reconciliation in this relationship coming? You can trust he's going to work in it. God, when is this deep request that I have for my hope, my future, my life? When am I going to start seeing any momentum in it? It's coming. It's coming. But you cannot wait until you see it to trust God. You cannot wait until you see it to trust God.
Carla Arges [00:08:56]:
You trust God because of who he is. We trust God because of the promises we make. We trust God because of his character. If we can't trust God, if we can't put our faith in God, how are we going to go through this life? We're going to be tossed and turned by every circumstance. If we only look at what we can see, we're going to be like Peter, looking at the waves and starting to sink in life. But when our eyes are on Jesus, we overcome. When our eyes are on Jesus, we make each step through the day. When our eyes are on Jesus, we can walk in the purpose and the plans and the calling over our life.
Carla Arges [00:09:40]:
Even if we can't see the next step, we just take one in faith. My affirming truth for you today is I will trust in the promises of God even if I can't see them. And I want to bring you to romans 1513. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. You don't have to manufacture hope on your own. It will abound in you. Through the power of the Holy Spirit you will be filled with joy and peace and believing. And that is my blessing over you today, that you will be filled with joy and peace in believing.
Carla Arges [00:10:33]:
Believing in the promises of God even when you can't see them. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on instagram, arlaarges, or at affirming truth. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye, friends.