3RD WEEK OF ADVENT

Now I . . . give him to the Lord.

After praying so fervently for a son, why did Hannah then leave him at the Lord’s temple at Shiloh as soon as her prayers were answered? The obvious answer is that she had made a vow. In her desperation for a child, Hannah had promised God that if she bore a son, she would follow an ancient tradition and “give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).

This was quite an act of faith! But Hannah’s action teaches us something deeper than the value of fulfilling vows. As anyone who receives a long-awaited blessing from the Lord will tell you, it’s not easy to let it go. Maybe we landed our dream job or found a perfect home for our family. Maybe we met our future spouse or, like Hannah, conceived a longed-for child. It’s easy to want to hold tightly to these gracious gifts. It takes wisdom and trust to accept that they were given for a purpose that may very well go beyond our own desires. Sometimes, like Hannah, we need to be willing to release our grip and let God control the outcome.

Hannah likely experienced tension between trust and fear as she prepared to give Samuel to the Lord. But it’s a tension that each one of us faces as we realize that we don’t have complete ownership over the blessings God has given us. Think of the family leaving behind friends or loved ones to move to a different city. Or a father walking his daughter down the aisle as she begins a brand-new life.

So was Hannah tempted to hang on to her son Samuel? We don’t know for sure. But we see that she ultimately did leave him at the temple. Which tells us that Hannah was willing to entrust his future—and hers—to the Lord. And once she did, she felt free enough to lift her voice in praise to God (1 Samuel 2:1-10). And Samuel? He became a mighty prophet and leader in Israel.

Hannah is an example to us all. We can trust God’s plan for the gifts he gives us. So rejoice in the graces God has freely bestowed on you. Enjoy his gifts! But don’t hold onto them too tightly.

“Thank you, Lord, for all your gifts to me. Show me the times when I need to loosen my grip on them.”

1 Samuel 1:24-28
(Psalm) 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8
Luke 1:46-56