For The Lord

For the Lord

[Hannah said,] “I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

An Amish mother sinks heavily onto her rocking chair, the unborn baby heavy within her. It is her eighth child, and she is weary to the core. She wonders how she will care for one more child.

The Amish consider children special blessings, but that doesn’t mean caring for them is easy. Fortunately, when Amish children are born, they are born into a community as well as a family: “One cannot raise Amish children alone. It is the effort of a whole community, intently devoted to a way of life. Nurturing children is one of the strongest factors in Amish fathers and mothers choosing to work at home; it is the reason for the Amish community’s investment in its school system.”

Yet as helpful as it is, a loving community is not enough. One Amish Proverb says, “When you come to the end of your rope, God is there to take over.”

Do you trust God to help you when you don’t have the strength to carry out your tasks? God will strengthen you when you are weak. If you have children, He has given them to you, and He asks for one thing in return—that you give them back to Him.

Jesus’ parents did this very thing. Luke 2:22 says, “It was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.” Like Jesus’ parents, and like Hannah in 1 Samuel, you must have the mind-set that your children belong to the Lord. They are His for their whole lives. When God gives children, He has a plan for them, and He will strengthen you to bring that plan to life.

Dear heavenly Father, what You want from us is our everything. I’m thankful that in exchange You give us Your everything.