1 Sam. 1:24-28; 2:1-10
What is beyond natural sight and present circumstances must take possession of the heart and must form by the Spirit the basis of spiritual power in this present world. What power there is in the present walk of one whose mind is set on heavenly things and who is by faith looking above and beyond present circumstances unto Jesus! It is only as one enters in heart and spirit into God's counsels that one is enabled to walk firmly in the right path today.
We see wonderful examples of the faith which looks beyond natural sight in Hannah's song (1 Samuel) at the birth of Samuel, and in Mary's words before the birth of Jesus. In both cases there is the greatest possible human weakness, but there is also what connects one with God's mighty power and that is faith. Hannah's utterance is remarkable. It is such a burst of praise and intelligence. It brings out the full force of that word, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." Psalm 25:14. The glory was about to depart from Israel, but in the midst of it all was a woman of faith, and it was her own faith, for neither Elkanah nor Eli entered into it. Hannah's faith went far beyond the ruin then in Israel. Her faith saw, not merely the birth of a little child, but that God was about to bring in a deliverance for Israel and the whole creation of God. When she says, "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord," her thoughts go beyond the immediate circumstances and the last notes of her psalm go on to the extremity of time and to God's purposes as regards creation.
We must by faith look beyond our present circumstances. God has counsels concerning the Church, the world, the creation. We can enter into and enjoy these counsels in spirit. There is not a single promise that God has made in His Word that is not ours in Christ Jesus. What enables us to keep the word of His patience but the certainty that all these things are ours already? We are not hoping merely for an uncertain thing, but we have the sure confirmation of the promises in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As examples of faith looking beyond present circumstances, consider Samuel and Simeon. Six or seven times over, Samuel is spoken of as the one who is in the house of the Lord, ministering there, and growing there. How few in Israel thought anything about Samuel then, or connected him with the overthrow of the Philistines, or with the establishment of God's counsel. When Simeon took the Lord up in his arms, who connected the coming day of glory with that little Child? Faith only. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and a wonderful secret it is-a wonderful thing to be in the secret of His counsels.
May the Lord give us to know God's counsels and to cherish them. We might be disheartened if we looked at things around us, but look at Hannah's faith and Mary's faith-hearts bursting forth in praise and looking on to the end of time. Let present circumstances be what they may, we have Christ at the right hand of God-the anchor of the soul-and we have the secret of the Lord, His thoughts and counsels. Let us not get narrow and short-sighted vision because of present circumstances, but let us ever remember that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.