Today's readings are Judges 16.4-30 and Galatians 4.12-31.
We conclude our journey with Samson today. Look how Samson is worn down. He is accustomed to having his own way, to doing things on his own terms, to seeing God deliver him no matter what his plans seem to be. Samson has now taken a wife who is not loyal to him and wishes to bring him into captivity. Her constant demands upon him serve to wear him down until he reveals the secret to his great strength. Samson, though physically strong, has not developed an iron will to be dedicated to God as his Nazirite vow would indicate. He is finally broken by his wife's demands and trusts in himself rather than in God.
We also wear ourselves down. We weaken ourselves as we entertain sinful thoughts. We weaken ourselves as we think about how well we are able to do certain things. We find ourselves trusting in ourselves and not in our Lord and Savior. We find ourselves looking to our own inner resources rather than that external gospel given to us in Christ. We start thinking we can take care of our own sin rather than looking to Jesus who gave himself on our behalf. The eventual outcome can be as deadly as Samson's outcome. We may end up trusting ourselves rather than God.
What consolation is there? When he was a broken man with no hope left, Samson looked again to the Lord and asked that God could be glorified in what he would do. In his final actions, he fulfilled the purpose God had formerly stated, the purpose God had in raising him up, a plan purposed before he was even born, the plan to bring harm to the unbelieving Philistines. Likewise, we never know what our Lord will still be able to do in and through us. We merely turn to our Lord in trust, ready to let him show himself through our actions.
We conclude our journey with Samson today. Look how Samson is worn down. He is accustomed to having his own way, to doing things on his own terms, to seeing God deliver him no matter what his plans seem to be. Samson has now taken a wife who is not loyal to him and wishes to bring him into captivity. Her constant demands upon him serve to wear him down until he reveals the secret to his great strength. Samson, though physically strong, has not developed an iron will to be dedicated to God as his Nazirite vow would indicate. He is finally broken by his wife's demands and trusts in himself rather than in God.
We also wear ourselves down. We weaken ourselves as we entertain sinful thoughts. We weaken ourselves as we think about how well we are able to do certain things. We find ourselves trusting in ourselves and not in our Lord and Savior. We find ourselves looking to our own inner resources rather than that external gospel given to us in Christ. We start thinking we can take care of our own sin rather than looking to Jesus who gave himself on our behalf. The eventual outcome can be as deadly as Samson's outcome. We may end up trusting ourselves rather than God.
What consolation is there? When he was a broken man with no hope left, Samson looked again to the Lord and asked that God could be glorified in what he would do. In his final actions, he fulfilled the purpose God had formerly stated, the purpose God had in raising him up, a plan purposed before he was even born, the plan to bring harm to the unbelieving Philistines. Likewise, we never know what our Lord will still be able to do in and through us. We merely turn to our Lord in trust, ready to let him show himself through our actions.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogger.com
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