Use What You've Been Given

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord.  My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides you! And there is no rock like our God." 1 Sam. 2:1-2

Today I read 1 Samuel 2:1-10. In my bible it's entitled, "Hannah's Triumphant Prayer". It is the prayer she prayed when she was leaving her 3-ish year old son Samuel, with a priest, to be raised in the temple. She prayed for this child, and God answered her prayer. Her gratitude was so overwhelming, she felt triumphant as she followed through on her promise to the Lord, to give her son back to Him. Though Samuel would be an arduous 6-8 hour trek from the hills of Ephraim to Shiloh, she felt triumphant. I'm in awe of her dedication, and of her level of gratitude. Most of us would take a gift and enjoy it ourselves. ["It's just what I wanted! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" *skips away joyfully*] But she sets the example that what God gives us, is not really ours. It is His, to be used for His purposes. 

When we think about being good stewards of what God's given us, we usually think about money.  For many of us, it's quite challenging to consider giving our "first fruits" - in modern terms you could say a direct withdrawal as soon as you earn it - to the Lord.  That is a spiritual discipline that in my experience (with my husband), is very much a blessing.  However, Hannah's example and other teachings in the Bible, reveal that we are stewards of much more than money. When you consider writing a check or establishing a direct withdrawal (since we are a people of the highest level of convenience), versus volunteering your hard labor, or putting yourself in very uncomfortable circumstances to minister to others, well...writing that check might seem quite appealing. As I referenced, in our society, we probably value time over anything. We want everything to take as little time as possible, so we have more to allocate for what we really want to do with our time.  These aren't bad things. Time with family, time with friends, time to work and time to play.  Time to sleep and eat.  Time to do something that enriches us as humans.  

But here's the rub; if I am in relationship with Christ and He is the Lord of my life, I am here for His purpose.  I am here to serve His kingdom, above all.  (P.S. His kingdom is way bigger than my church family, though many opportunities begin there.) So I challenge you to think about what gifts He's given you, what passions He has planted in your heart, and where He has placed you.  Spend time with Him as you think about these things and open your eyes to see where He's leading you and how He may want to use you.  It may open the door to a journey you never imagined, more fulfilling and exciting than anything you've ever done.  

Spiritual gifts, talents, special interests, jobs, money, homes, physical strength, intelligence, resources, access, and yes, children...I have nothing that God did not allow me to have. How can I honor Him with what He's given me?

More reading on stewardship: 1 Peter 4:9-11; Matthew 25:14-30

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash