THE LORD'S HANDMAID

Here is a note I just wrote to my friend for herself and her daughter, and also for my own precious little girl.

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Hannah longed for a baby, but the Lord had not opened her womb. And so she had no children.


God's Word says she was in “bitterness of soul” meaning she felt a deep distress and sadness.


And she “wept sore.” Which means she cried intensely.


When she prayed she said

“O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life ...”


Do you notice what she called herself?


She was God's handmaid.


And we remember another special woman in the Bible who also humbled herself before God and called herself God's handmaid:

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.


So what does it mean to be a “handmaid”?

Webster's 1828 dictionary says:


HAND'MAIDEN, n. A maid that waits at hand; a female servant or attendant.

What does “wait” mean in this sense?

I think it means: “To pay servile or submissive attendance. To attend to. To be ready to serve.”


How can we have a heart and an attitude that is submissive to God? To be ready to serve Him?


John the baptist said: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John had already given God his whole life, but he wanted to give even more.


And in Matthew 16:25 Jesus says: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever
will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”


So maybe if we want a heart and an attitude that is quick, ready and happy to serve God we need to think less of our “selves”. Get rid of all selfishness.


Paul, in Philippians 2:4 says: “Look NOT every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”


That's where we remember:

J Jesus first
O Others, then
Y Yourself

This is not the recipe for a life of drudgery and pain. The Lord blesses obedience to Him in ways we can never, with our limited human mind, even conceive of!


As mothers and daughters we are blessed having people around us all day to practice this on. We can serve everyone quickly and happily.

Too hard! I hear you cry. Yes - it is very difficult in our own strength, but entirely possible with the Holy Spirit working within us.

And when we serve others we are serving God.

I want to be the Lord's handmaid. Do you?

The Mummalady