Let us hold on to glorious hope.

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Let us trust in God, place our dreams and hopes in Him, and thus wait with faith to see what He will give us, understanding that it is always only for our good and is the best.

Now there was a man from Ramathaim-Zophim, in the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives; the name of one was Anna, and the name of the other, Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Anna had no children. 3 Every year the man would go up from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh. Two of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give to Peninnah his wife and to all his sons and daughters, each one his portion. 5 But to Hannah he gave a choice portion, for he loved Hannah, though the Lord had not granted her children. 6 And her rival provoked her, angering and saddening her, because the Lord had not granted her children. 7 Thus he did year by year; whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, he provoked her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? And why is your heart distressed? Am I not better to you than ten sons?
9 And Hannah arose from the feast at Shiloh, after she had eaten and drunk at Shiloh; and Eli the priest sat on a seat by a pillar of the temple of the Lord, 10 and she prayed to the Lord in bitterness of soul, and wept profusely. 11 And she made a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if you will look on the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
12 While she continued praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. 13 But Hannah spoke in her heart, but her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; and Eli took her for a drunken man. 14 Then Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunken? Refuse your wine." 15 And Hannah answered him, "No, my lord; I am a woman of affliction in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman, For out of the abundance of my distress and affliction I have spoken until now. 17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." 18 And she said, "May your servant find favor in Your sight." So the woman went on her way and ate and was no longer sad.

1 Samuel 1:1-18

Here we see the image of Hannah, a desperate and very distressed woman for not having had children until then. This meant dishonor for a Hebrew woman. In this sense, clinging to hope can be too difficult, especially when our eyes and circumstances show no sign of improvement. For us, the children of God, this can become even more discouraging because we are certain and know that God could have made our hopes and dreams come true, God could have resolved any situation, but everything continues and God has not done so. What shall we think?

In this picture we've read, Anna was a woman of tremendous faith. Even when she was immersed in disappointment and much pain, she continued to worship the Lord at Shiloh. This is what I have truly valued. Even when we seemingly lose hope, we do what we must do: persevere. God values ​​this and values ​​it. Patience will forge a godly character and, above all, a hope that never disappoints.

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance produces testing; and testing produces hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

Generally, the most difficult situations lead us to God—or they should. Anna was weeping bitterly. She explained that she poured out her soul before God and offered what she valued most. She presented a son. She presented all her hopes before God. And she promised that if God granted her desire, her great longing, she would dedicate that son to God's service.

24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Luke 9:24

Generally, our logic leads us to strive to hold on to something, but preserving it means surrendering it completely to God. This is an example that Ana gives us, that we can learn from her example of faith. Let us surrender our hope, our longings and our dreams to God, who is the only one who can fulfill them and change or transform them so that they coincide and are fully aligned with his desires for us, his children, for our good, so that we may have that glorious future that God has planned for us.