Saturday, January 14, 2012
Living the Dream (part 2)
Continuing with our look at Hannah and her prayer for God
to give her a child, I have found another lesson in which I have learned from
Hannah's example (see yesterday's post for part 1). Hannah stayed true to her
vow. In 1 Samuel chapter 1, verses 24 through 28, Hannah, as soon as she could
physically let go of Samuel, takes him to Eli, the priest. God did give Hannah
her son, Samuel. And she still goes ahead with her promise to give Samuel back
to God by leaving him to serve in the temple with Eli. Once God gave her a
piece of her dream Hannah was faithful to do as she promised.
This blows my mind because I know I am guilty of doing the exact opposite. I have been known to pray for God to give me a job, a ministry or an opportunity with all the best of intentions for that "dream" being for God and allowing it to be Him who works in it. However, as soon as I would get even the slightest grip on that "dream", I would run on ahead all on my own. My actions would seem to say, "OK God. I got it now. Thanks!". And it would no longer be about God. It would most definitely be all about me. Am I the only one guilty of this?
What is so funny about this rat race in which I used to run, is I would get so frustrated when things wouldn't come out as I had thought. I would pray for God to intervene and of course all along I would have a death grip on that very thing -- so desperately trying to control it. What a small amount of trust we exhibit when we go about our lives in this way.
Hannah was brave and incredible in her resolve to see her vow through. She trusted that God would take care of Samuel. Hannah knew that God wouldn't let her down. And honestly, I think Hannah was satisfied that she could say she had Samuel at all. Wow, what another powerful lesson -- to just be content with the smallest blessings God gives us instead of always looking for more.
This blows my mind because I know I am guilty of doing the exact opposite. I have been known to pray for God to give me a job, a ministry or an opportunity with all the best of intentions for that "dream" being for God and allowing it to be Him who works in it. However, as soon as I would get even the slightest grip on that "dream", I would run on ahead all on my own. My actions would seem to say, "OK God. I got it now. Thanks!". And it would no longer be about God. It would most definitely be all about me. Am I the only one guilty of this?
What is so funny about this rat race in which I used to run, is I would get so frustrated when things wouldn't come out as I had thought. I would pray for God to intervene and of course all along I would have a death grip on that very thing -- so desperately trying to control it. What a small amount of trust we exhibit when we go about our lives in this way.
Hannah was brave and incredible in her resolve to see her vow through. She trusted that God would take care of Samuel. Hannah knew that God wouldn't let her down. And honestly, I think Hannah was satisfied that she could say she had Samuel at all. Wow, what another powerful lesson -- to just be content with the smallest blessings God gives us instead of always looking for more.
No comments:
Post a Comment