I have always said that being a mom was the hardest job I have ever had.  Every day I had to make decisions about what I thought was best for my children – who were their friends, would I allow them to watch Rated R movies before they were of age, advocate for them in the public school to make sure their educational needs were met, and so forth.  However difficult those days were, there was one thing that as parents we would do – always fulfill our promises we made to God when our children were Baptist.  This we took very seriously – to put the Word of God in their hands, teach them the way of the Lord, and help them to know Jesus.  This was not always easy, by any means.  Often, life would get in the way.  Promises can often be difficult to keep.

In 1 Samuel 1:1-29, Hannah is barren and cannot have children.  Her husband loved her in spite that he would never have a son to carry on his name.  But, Hannah loved the Lord with all her heart.  Every year she traveled to the temple to pray.  On this particular visit, she made a vow with God.  She prayed, “…O Lord of hosts,…will you give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you…” (1 Samuel 1:11).  Eli, the priests answered her, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him” (v. 17).  In due time, Hannah gives birth to a baby boy.  When her child was weaned, she took her son, Samuel to the Temple and there he lived for the rest of his life.  He was just a young boy (v.24).

I don’t know about you, but I found it hard enough to live up to my promises to raise my children in the Christian faith.  Hannah had promised the Lord that she would take her son and him to the Lord at a young age, present him to the Lord, and then leaves him!  I can’t even imagine!  I wonder how often we make promises to God – yet, to never fulfill our promises.  Do we sometimes say, “If Lord you do this, then I will do that?”  How often do we fail to see that God has answered our prayers, but we cannot even take the time to thank God?

What if God did not live up to His promises?

Let us pray…Gracious God, forgive us when we have not lived up to what we say we will do.  Help us to acknowledge the promises we make – to worship you regularly, to be in your Word daily, but we continue to fail.  Lord, we are grateful that you never backed down on any of our promises.  We love you so much.  Amen.