Introduction:      This passage presents to us a woman by the name of Hannah. She made some very wise investments that continue to reap dividends down to this very day. I want to point out some areas where she made wise investments and I want to encourage you to make the very same investments in life that Hannah made. Hannah invested:

I.          IN THE FAMILY
Hannah invested her life in her family in spite of circumstances weren’t so pleasant. She invested:

A.                 In Spite Of Difficulty (1 Sam.1: 1-2)

Right off the bat we learn that Hannah was married to a man with two wives. This is a recipe for disaster! Yet, Hannah was not looking for the exit! She stayed in the family and she worked to make the best of a bad situation! God never said the family would be an easy place to live! Families are great but filled with people and therein lies the potential for trouble. There will be disagreements and there will be trouble, but the secret is to not run away! Learn to make an investment in your family regardless of the difficulties you face in life! It’s gotten too easy to walk away in our society! God’s people need to learn the truth that marriage and family is a lifetime investment!

B.                 Spite Of Discouragement (vv. 5-6)

Peninnah used Hannah’s barrenness as a means of ridicule. There is a hint of jealousy in this home (v.5). Elkanah loved Hannah. All of this criticism and belittling made life practically impossible for Hannah, yet she continued to invest in the family! What a testimony! Family is like that sometimes! Discouragement crops up from time to time in the home. Sometimes people get discouraged at their fellow family members and what they say and do, but discouragement is no reason to close the door on the family! Today you may be defeated and discouraged with the way things are going in your family, but let me encourage you: Keep investing! You may never see the results you want, but there is a biblical principle that speaks to your need today: (Gal 6:7-8) "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. {8} For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." When we sow the right things, we will reap the right harvest. Keep investing in people’s lives and leave the harvest to the hand of God. He will never fail!

C.                 In Spite Of Desperation (vv. 5-6)

Hannah was barren because God had chosen this lot for her! She was in a situation that was of the Lord’s doing and nothing she could do would ever change it! What Hannah did not know was that God‘s plan for her life was good. His plan wasn’t to hurt her His plan was to amaze her in His time! ( Ill. The plans of God for us are good plans (Jer 29:11) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.") It may appear that the investments you make in your family are not paying off at the present time. Let me encourage you to keep investing! The closing bell hasn’t rung yet! Your family is too important for you to stop investing yourself in them now. Those who make wise investments in their families reap dividends at unexpected times and in marvelous ways.

II.         IN THE FAITH
Family was important to Hannah, but faith was very important to her as well. She made a wise investment in the faith.

A.                 Her Faith Was Personal (1 Sam.1: 10-11; 2:1-10)

This woman knows the Lord on a personal level. (Illus: Her prayer and her praise). She had a personal relationship with the God of Israel. Do you know the greatest gift you can give your family is the knowledge that you’re saved? The greatest single investment you can make in life is that of investing in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ! Not just a casual brushing up against the things of God, but a real and vital relationship with Him that controls the way you live your life every single day! Nothing in time or eternity is as important as your personal relationship with Jesus Christ! Be sure you make that investment!

B.         Her Faith Was Practical (vv. 10-18)

Hannah was a woman who possessed a practical faith in God! She didn’t just know about Him, she knew Him and she trusted Him for all her needs. She leaned upon Him and trusted Him for the impossible in her life. She didn’t just talk about faith in God she fleshed it out by the way she lived. Nothing makes an investment in the lives of others around us like a genuine life lived for the glory of God. A practical faith is a proclaiming faith and it always points others to Jesus Christ! Make an investment in a faith that you can live out day by day!

C.         Her Faith Was Profound (vv. 11, 20-23)

More than anything in the world Hannah wanted a child. She knew this was impossible apart from the work of the Lord so she believed God for the impossible and promised God the incredible in return! She asked God for a son and she promised to give that son back to the Lord for His glory! Hannah had a depth of faith that is rare in this world. What a blessing it is when we come to the place as investors in the faith where we can believe God for the impossible situations in our lives and are willingly to give everything to Him for His glory. This kind of faith is always honored by the Lord - v. 19-20.

III.       IN THE FUTURE

A.                 Through The Length Of Her Commitment )1 Sam.1: 11, 22; 2:18-21)

Hannah made the ultimate commitment a mother can make. She totally gave her child to the Lord! She committed him to the Lord before he was even conceived, she dedicated him to the Lord when he was born and she gave him to the Lord when he was weaned. This was not a momentary commitment, but it was a once for all commitment from which she never looked back! She sowed seed that would be reaped for generations! She made an investment in the future! (Illus: Imagine how hard it must have been to leave Samuel at the Tabernacle! Imagine how much she must have anticipated those yearly trips to see him. Imagine her heart break as she left each year. But, imagine her pride as she watched him develop into a man of God, 2:26! She was seeing her investment pay off! It had been worth the sacrifice!) This is the kind of commitment God is seeking in His people! He wants us to invest the totality of our lives on His altar, Rom. 12:1-2. He wants us to give all we have and are to Him, without holding anything back from Him! He wants a once for all commitment for His glory! (Note: Some of you have children that need to be placed on the altar this morning! How long has it been since you, with a broken heart, came before the Lord and agonized before Him for the souls of your wayward children? Regardless of why they are there, they need someone praying for them! We need some moms and dads who will get broken over their children and bring them to God’s altar and trust Him to touch them!)

B.                 Through The Life Of Her Child (vv. 21-28, 2:26)

Hannah presented her son Samuel to the Lord and he, by the grace of God, became a mighty man of God. He set a standard of righteousness for the nation of Israel . He was a man greatly used of the Lord. He was the man who anointed David as king. He was the man who served as the spiritual leader of Israel for many years. He was the man he was because of the investment his mother made in his life before he was born and during all those early years. Because she made the kind of investments she did, an entire nation was blessed for many years. In fact, Hannah’s investment in Samuel continues to reap dividends to this day anytime anyone is helped, fed, challenged or blessed through the story of his life! Hannah’s investment in Samuel continued to live on long after she was dead! Those are the kind of dividends we should all want to reap! (Note: Some of you are making that same investment in the future today! You bring your children to the house of God Sunday and Wednesday. You bring them when it isn’t easy or convenient. You are instilling in them the idea that God’s house is an important place to be. You are teaching them that right and wrong do matter. You are teaching them about Jesus Christ. You are teaching them the important lessons of life. They are learning lessons from watching your faith. You may think they aren’t seeing much from you, you may think they aren’t getting the message, but one day, you will see that investment pay off in glorious dividends in the lives of your children! Keep investing and remain faithful and the Lord will bless your efforts for the glory of God!

Conclusion:       Let’s get honest for a few minutes. I know that Hannah made the right investments in her family in her faith and in the future. She exhibited a life of faith that is a cut above the ordinary! However, what she did is a challenge to you and me today! What kind of investments are you making in the lives of those around you? Whether you know it or not, you are investing every day you live! What kind of dividends will those investments pay out in return? The good thing about spiritual investments is this: if you have been investing all wrong, God will allow you to change the way your investments are distributes today. If you see areas that need attention, the place to make the changes is right here at this altar! Some of you have children you need to bring to this altar. Some have parents and other family members that need the Lord, why not come and make an investment in them? Others have literally been foolish with your lives. You have squandered the resources the Lord has given you and spiritually you’re looking pretty bad right now. Why not come and trade what you’ve been investing in and put your resources in something that will reap a great harvest for the Lord? Still others have no relationship with the Lord. I invite you to come before Him so that you can begin with God today. If He has spoken to your heart, don’t pull the usual Sunday morning “stand and take it - grin and bear it”. This morning do something different. Get to the altar and have an encounter with God! This mom Hannah was a wise investor, are you?