…the Lord had closed her womb.

1 Samuel 1:6 ESV

I couldn’t help but see the interplay of sovereignty and free will today. The Lord has been showing me recently in my own life how He set up things even decades ago that I see playing out now. I keep seeing His hand in things and exclaiming how perfectly He does all things!

God doesn’t plot evil. When we get to Job, for instance, God doesn’t think up ways to hurt Job. That’s Satan’s job. God’s thoughts toward us are for peace and not harm. The Psalms are full of the wicked plotting. God’s not wicked. But He is all-knowing and Satan’s never going to surprise or out-maneuver God.

God closed Hannah’s womb. He set up the circumstances knowing her heart would come to the point of offering the child and would follow through with the promise. He patiently waits for her to come to that.

Then we have her husband throwing off a prayer/blessing about Samuel’s words not failing. God used that prayer.

Hannah then receives children. It wasn’t about infertility. It wasn’t God not wanting to bless her with children. It was God working out His best for her and for His people. It’s all so much bigger than us and what we want right now. See His hand at work in your past, present, and future.