“Making a vow, she pleaded, ‘LORD of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.’” (1 Samuel 1:11)
Mothers wish to keep their children about them. It is natural that they should wish to see them often. But Hannah, when most eager for a child, asks for one as the special gift of God, yet she does not seek him for herself, but for her God. She had it in her heart that as soon as she has weaned him, she will take him up to the house of God and leave him there, as a dedicated child whom she can only see at certain festivals.
Her heart longs not to see her boy at home, his father’s daily pride, and her own hourly solace, but to see him serving as a Levite in the house of the Lord. She thus proved that she had learned self-denial.
Sisters, this is one of our hardest lessons: to learn to give up what we most prize at the command of God and to do so cheerfully. To desire a blessing that we may have the opportunity of parting with it, this is a self-conquest: have we reached it?
Is God the Center of Your Home?
Today's devotional reminded us that we and our children belong to God, not us. Our God is the Lord. He is not merely one option to choose from — he is the source and center of our lives. We were saved for his glory; to live for him, not for ourselves. But what does it actually look like to make God the center of our homes?
One practical step to cultivating a God-centered home is to practice God-centered habits. That's why I'm such a big believer in daily family devotions. Gathering your family daily to read the Bible is a simple way to make God and his Word the center of your home.
This doesn't have to be a complicated habit — you can get started this week with just ten minutes each day.
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