Tuesday

Pray, Receive and Give Back

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give Him to the Lord" Hannah.

I was thinking about this text today from 1 Samuel. I pray for quite a few things. I rarely take a vow like Hannah did, saying, "...if you will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord..." But I am thinking about what that could mean today. If God gives me anything, would not the best thing for me to do with it be to give it back to Him?

I usually have the opposite mindset. A bit like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, "My Preciousssssss!" What is mine is mine. Not often thinking that everything I have came from God. "Everything" is a pretty exhaustive word. My daughters, wife, material possessions, gifts and talents, eyesight, ability to write. Why did He give it? For his pleasure. Colossians 1:16 says it well, "...all things were created by him and for him...." That is pretty exhaustive too.

So I am reminded today to remember I have been given, and will be given even today. Some time, some food, some ability, some family. I want to remember today to give them to the Lord. I think I do that by giving thanks and by releasing my grip while stewarding well.

May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.