Growing in Integrity at WorkSample

Begin in Prayer

Devotional – Integrity Through Honoring Your Commitments

To say that Samuel was an important figure in the Old Testament is quite an understatement. Many consider him to be the last Judge and the first Prophet, and he also served as a priest. His story intersects the lives of King Saul and King David and how the three of them transitioned Israel from a group of tribes to a unified kingdom.

But there would be no Samuel without his mother Hannah who modeled integrity by honoring her commitments.

We read Hannah’s story in the first two chapters of 1 Samuel. Her husband, Elkanah, loved her in her infertility, but he also had another wife, Peninnah, who had children. This not only exacerbated Hannah’s ache but the Bible says that Peninnah went on to provoke her. Every day there were painful reminders that she was lacking, insufficient, and less-than.

1 Samuel 1:10-11 is striking, “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 promised that if God would bless her with a son, she would give him back to God. Her prayers were so intense that Eli the priest thought she was drunk. That was the level of her desire and desperation.

How tempting must it have been for her to rationalize keeping little Samuel home with her instead of taking him to the temple, but she honored her commitment to God. Hannah kept her promise even though she could never have dreamed that her son would play a major role in Israel becoming who God desired them to be. I doubt Hannah could have imagined the ripple effects of her integrity.

• Have you ever wanted something that badly?
• Think back to some of the commitments you made to God if He would just __________.
• What do you currently possess that you once fervently prayed for?

Integrity is demonstrated in big moments and major decisions, like Hannah’s, but it is not limited to them. More times than not, integrity shows up in the smallest, routine, everyday decisions we make with how we interact with people, solve daily problems, and keep our commitments both large and small.

Closing Prayer

• Take a moment to thank God for two or three specific prayers that He has answered for you.
• Imagine Jesus calling you by name and asking, “What do you want?” Then share that with Him unfiltered.
• Ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything that He has given you that He’d like you to loosen your grip on.

Amen.