Good morning people who serve God in accordance with what He says to do.

1 Samuel 2:35 NIV I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.

This is a spiritual reality that God desires for every one of us today.

God is looking for people who faithfully serve Him – in whatever individual way this looks to us – but they do so according to what is in His heart and mind.

Our serving God is not about us. It’s about Him.

Our serving God is not to look how we want it to look. It’s about what He desires and declares.

Our serving God is not about furthering ourselves. It’s about honouring and glorifying Him.

Our serving God is not about our ideas, our thoughts, our priorities, or our opinions. It’s about God’s will, God’s kingdom and God’s ways.

Here’s a statement I see as I meditate on this verse: The faithfulness of your service to God is not in how much you do, but in how much it is in alignment with God’s heart and mind.

Are you doing what God is saying?

Are you representing God’s heart and mind to others?

Good morning people who follow through on the promises you make to God.

1 Samuel 1:27-28 NIV 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 worshipped the Lord there.

Hannah followed through with her vow to give to the Lord what the Lord had given to her.

Do we do the same?

I feel the Lord is prompting some of you today regarding the promises that you have previously made to God. I sense that some of you have asked the Lord for something, and with it, you made a commitment to Him in some area.

Some of you have followed through on this commitment. Well done. I pray that you continue to walk in the favour and blessing of God.

For others, you know that you have not done what you said you would do. There are many reasons – and some of them even sound valid. But today that Lord is calling you to follow through on what you committed to Him. He is asking you to step into the realm of obedience. I know that you will find favour attached to this.

May we all be people who honour covenant with God.

Good morning people who give back to God what He has given to you.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on 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.”

Hannah understandably petitioned God, through tears and grief, to give her a son. This was not a once off prayer. This was an ongoing journey that had many difficult moments.

Hannah continued to go to the house of the Lord, and she also continued to talk to God. This is a great example for us all.  

Today I see another insightful and powerful thing that Hannah did: She vowed to give back to the Lord what she was asking the Lord to give to her.

The matter might be very different in your life, but the application is the same for us all.

Do we use for our own benefit what God gives us, or do we offer it back to the Lord to bring Him glory?

How about that promotion, that relationship, that ministry expression, that son, that daughter?

I see a deeper principle here that is relevant to every one of us today: Everything we receive from God belongs to God and is simply to be taken care of by us. This includes our children, as it did for Hannah.

So, what have you been asking God for?

When He provides, do you give it back to Him for His glory?

Good morning people who keep talking to God in the unexplainable times of your life.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 NIV In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on 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.”

What do you do when you are in deep anguish?

Hannah prayed to the Lord, while weeping bitterly.

God is ok with seeing your emotions and hearing your hurt and your pain. He’s even ok with you having doubts and asking questions.

The most important thing to God is that you come to Him. He alone is the one who can truly meet us in the place of our deepest need.

Talking to God is the best thing you can do in your darkest and most difficult times. Be honest with Him (He knows anyway). Somehow the talking it out with God helps us more than we realise.

And never forget, God loves you with a love that is wonderfully indescribable. Remember, He is for you, not against you. This is the absolute truth.

I pray that something happens in your time with the Lord today.

Good morning people who don’t step back from God when you don’t understand.

1 Samuel 1:5-7 NIV But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

God created women and placed within them the ability to conceive. This was according to His pattern and design. Yet it says that this same Lord closed Hannah’s womb so that she could not conceive.

This fits into the category of something not making sense. This would bring with it a serious of questions and great emotional challenges. And it didn’t happen for just a month or two – it went on year after year.

You and I might face different challenges to Hannah, but these also bring with them some questions. Not everything can be easily put into the right place in our thinking when it comes to what we go through and who God is. This is common to all.

So, what do we do with this?

While there is much that could be said and this is multi-faceted (and I never want to oversimplify your reality), I want to point us to the one thing we see in this scripture.

Hannah continued to go up to the house of the Lord.

Please don’t step back from God or from gathering together with other believers when you go through challenges and questions. We need to walk together, pray together and support each other. We need each other.