Good Morning Friends,
“There is no one holy like the Lord, there is
no one besides you, there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)
These are the words of Hannah, the mother of
Samuel. They are part of a prayer Hannah prayed on the day she turned Samuel
over to the Lord. Samuel was a gift from God, the answer to her prayer for a
son after many years of being barren. In response to God’s gift, Hannah
promised that she would give Samuel to Him. True to her word, as soon as Samuel
was weaned she brought him to Eli the high priest and left him in the service
of the Lord.
It must have been difficult for Hannah to give
her son to the Lord. She had longed with her whole heart for a son for many
years. When she received the desire of her heart, she recognized him as the
gift of God and returned him to the Lord. When Hannah gave Samuel to the Lord
she did not do so with a grudging heart. She gave Samuel freely and with praise
to God.
God did not demand that she give up her son. Even
in giving up her son, she was not losing him, but giving him to God’s service.
As Samuel grew and matured it would become obvious that his mother had given him
to the Lord so that he might accomplish his highest purpose. He became a great
man of God and had profound influence on Israel, all because his mother was
willing to give him up.
As excruciating as the act of giving Samuel to
the Lord must have been, Hannah knew God would be faithful to her and to her
son. She clung to Him like a Rock, like the foundation that cannot be shaken.
What Hannah found in the Lord is still true. He
never asks us to do anything that is ultimately harmful to us or to those we
love. There is no one else we can turn to who has the strength, wisdom, and
compassion He has. He is the foundation upon which we can build that will never
be shaken.
His, by Grace, Steve
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