"After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” ...And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli." 1 Samuel 1:9-11; 24-26
I have this pet peeve. It hurts my heart to see people treat their children like children. (Did I lose you?) To watch children be disregarded as if they cannot be used of God because they're too young to understand, too wild, too distracted, too fragile, whatever the case may be.
God uses children to teach us how to be more like Him but oftentimes we seem too busy (or too smart) to notice. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3 ESV) To become like children. What is it to become like a child, what is it talking about?
Think about Lee Stoneking, Charles Robinette, Victor Jackson, ministers that are Radically Apostolic (highly recommend that book). They have abandoned all our adult precepts, abandoned decorum, forsaken embarrassment, as a child, to bring the whole gospel to every soul that will listen. Children can show us how to be unashamed in worship. They can show us how to tell everyone about how cool Jesus is because they don't care if someone doesn't want to hear what they have to say. They're not afraid to tell you when they're uncomfortable and they never hold back telling you how much they love you. Let's be more like children.
When my children were babies I stood up in front of the church and vowed to give my children back to God, much like Hannah did with Eli. I think oftentimes we dedicate our children as a tradition; it's just something we do so I'll do it. I think we as parents often fail to recognize the commitment we've made to God and instead of giving them back, we keep them for ourselves.
Our children are in danger, all children are in danger. The world we live in grows darker every single day and it is targeting our children more and more. It's not enough for sin to take hold of adults, it must take everyone. So, out of protection, good families remove good kids from dark schools.
I was at a school event the other day and everyone was outside on the playground. As I watched hundreds of precious children run around my heart broke. I didn't see children running and playing, I saw lost souls. I recognized the brutal truth that if I don't do something, if I don't try, if I run away, every soul on that playground is destined for darkness.
If I take my children and run, who will reach into the darkness?
Kim Haney writes,
"Something inside of me kept screaming that I needed to be out. I wanted to be out ministering to others, traveling, speaking, leading, helping others, and doing things "for God" I saw others my age doing, but I felt limited by the needs of my five kids. But the fact was, nobody really knew I felt that way. Or so I thought.
The California sunsets are all beautiful on summer evenings, but this one I will never forget. During my evening walk I was about halfway down the road, facing our house, when unexpectedly the Lord Jesus spoke clearly into my spirit. Out of the blue came this question: "Do you really want to please me?" To say the least, it caught me by surprise and really caught me off guard. I responded as if I were having a conversation, "Well, of course I want to please you, Lord! I have given you my life. I walk with you every day, I pray, I do my best always to obey, and I witness to others about you. What do you mean?"
Friend, if I have ever heard the voice of the Lord, I heard it that day walking down the dirt road. God wasn't finished. "Kim if you truly want to please me look straight ahead." As I looked down the road, I saw my five precious kids playing in the front yard...
"I have given you five children. If you truly want to please Me, then they are your ministry."" (For Women Who Are Called By Women Who Have Answered, Kim Haney)
As a mother, it is my ministry, my duty, my honor to teach my children, to pray over my children, to pray with my children, to teach them the word of God. To teach them to worship, to teach them to sacrifice, to teach them to serve. To teach them to reach. To equip them with what they need to fight a giant, deliver a nation, and declare His word. They're not too young.
What would have happened if Hannah had not returned Samuel to the temple of God as she promised?
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 1:7-8
God give my children a spiritual maturity and fill them with Your Spirit to guide and protect them. Give them a love for worship, for Your word, and for the lost. God use my children and my family to bring revival to their school. Grant me wisdom to equip them with the tools they need to penetrate the darkness with Your light. Teach us to be a light walking through the darkness to draw others to you. Let us be a refuge and a beacon for the lost. I put my children completely in Your hands, use them. Send us and we will go.
It is only a tiny rosebud
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
God opens this flower so sweetly,
Then, in my hands, they die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
The flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So, I'll trust in Him for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the Pilgrim's way
The pathway that lies before me
Only my Heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.
Book recommendations for parents:
My Child by Sarah J Woods
The Power Of A Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
The Last Generation Of Truth by Daniel L. Butler
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