Fri.’s Devo - Our “Babies”

Read: 1 Sam. 1:9-4:11
The hero of today’s reading is definitely Hannah. After years of anguish and intimidation, she gets a word from the Lord that she is going to have a son! How excited she must have been. I wonder how long it took before she became pregnant. The Bible just says “in due time”. I guess that means about 10 months later. God kept his promise and Hannah kept hers. She loved her son for about 2 years then brought him to Eli and left him. Everyone knew that Eli had done a terrible job of fathering his sons, so that was an act of faith on Hannah’s part to leave Samuel there. I can’t imagine, as a mother, leaving my child forever. Especially if I had had so much trouble getting pregnant and waited years for him. But Hannah did, and her son blessed the whole nation. He went on to be one of Israel’s most beloved and greatest prophets who stayed true till the end.
God blessed Hannah for her great sacrifice. She went on to have three sons and two daughters. This story makes me ponder the “babies” I have had that I finally gave to the Lord. One of my “babies” was my book. I finally understood that if it really was the Lord who birthed my book then it was His and not mine. I took 25 boxes of my books and gave them to a ministry that could distribute them to hurting people. I haven’ seen the results but I didn’t do it for personal results. The results are the Lord’s doing.
We are all pregnant from time to time with new ideas, dreams, and ministries that God has given us. It sounds counterproductive, but we have to die to those “babies” and give them back to God before they can be brought to life. It is not always that easy, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Hannah either.
Lord, we lay down our dreams and “babies” at your altar. Resurrect what is worth living.