"And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
"...and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there."
-----1 Samuel 1:11,26-28
It is one thing to tell God what you would do if only He _____________ (fill in the blank here). It is another to actually follow through with it. Bargaining with the Almighty is a ploy that we His children do on a regular basis.
Hannah's life seemed to revolve around her inability to conceive. We see it effecting at least two relationships (her husband and the other wife). We also see her evaluating her self worth by this. Her vow to God was not taken lightly. Her willingness to follow through though it had to be painful seems to have always been certain.
We can learn a valuable lesson from Hannah here. Following up on what we say we will do is important because it reflects not only who we are, but who's we are.
"Father, help me become a man of my word."
Heart and Soul,
BAG
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