1 Samuel 1:24 (NKJV)

“Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young.”

Of all the things Hannah brought to the Lord at Shiloh, the greatest sacrifice was her young son. Here was a boy she had prayed for and waited for, for so many years. She had endured much mocking and ridicule because she had no children, and now that she had a son, she was willing to let him go at such a young age. “And the child was young.” Indeed, the child was still an infant, freshly weaned from breast milk. But she gave him to the Lord. Above the bulls, the flours and the wine, I believe what really pleased the Lord on that day, was her sacrifice of love.

God is looking out for what I am willing to let go for the sake of pleasing Him in worship. If we only present the bulls and flours, God may not be too impressed. When we offer something dear and precious to us, even on the altar of worship and devotion, this is what endears the Lord. The measure of your devotion is marked by the cost of your sacrifice. If it’s cheap to you, then it’s cheap to God.

“Oh Lord, help me learn and relearn this lesson. I need the flame of love to burn again in my heart so that I can naturally and sacrificially offer You my costly gifts of devotion on my altars of worship. This, I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”