Hannah and Samuel: Letting Go
Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 1:21-28
“I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.”
Hannah had prayed desperately for a son and had vowed that if the Lord gave her a son, he would be dedicated to God’s service. Now she fulfilled her promise and entrusted her son to Eli’s care. We can imagine how challenging that day was for her. Letting go can be difficult.
We too experience difficult moments of letting go of the ones we love. We send loved ones off to remote places; we drop children off at camp; we send teenagers off to college. Sometimes we say goodbye to those whom we probably will not see till we meet again in heaven. As we say goodbye, we trust God to be in charge and do what is best. We believe that he will keep those whom we love in his care. We can take heart when we recognize that God is the one who is ultimately in control. We can entrust those whom we love to his compassionate heart, knowing that the Lord loves them even more deeply than we do. We can even pray over them, commissioning them to go with God.
Hannah had joy in her prayer (1 Samuel 2) because she knew God was in charge of her child. She had given him to the Lord, who had blessed her with him in the first place. She trusted that her son’s whole life was in God’s hands. We too can let go when we believe the Lord is holding our loved ones tight.
Lord, help us to trust you to care for those we love. Give us the courage to let go, knowing that you are holding those we love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
About the author — Steven and Deb Koster
Steven and Deb Koster have a passion for marriages, families, and spiritual growth in the home. Both are ordained ministers in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Steven formerly served as editor of Today and director of ReFrame's English-language outreach. Deb leads Family Fire, ReFrame’s family ministry at FamilyFire.com and on Facebook. The Kosters have three children.
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