Hannah had carried the grief of not having a son for years (1:7), which makes it so surprising when she made good on her vow to dedicate Samuel and leave him to serve God with Eli. We would expect her to make such a vow when she was barren – attempting to bargain with God from such a place of weakness would lead most of us to make such a lofty promise. But then, when she cradled her son in her arms and nursed him, we would imagine her maternal instincts would have kicked into high gear, and the rationalization would have begun.

“Why would God finally give me a son, for me to abandon him? Surely that is not what He wants.”

We imagine this because it is what we would have likely done. We’d likely cheer Hannah on had she made the decision to keep her son. We might even want to see Hannah do this so that we might feel better. But that is not what we see. Instead, we see the shocking reality of Hannah following through on her promise and leaving her young son with Eli. Surely this was not easy for her. Surely she wept as she made her lonely journey home, her arms now empty. But what sustained Hannah was knowing God’s goodness to her had provided a son and that same goodness would sustain her as she gave God’s gift back to Him in worship.

What gift from God might you be holding on to instead of giving it back to God in worship? Why?