Easter Devotional - Day 20
"Delilah shouted, 'Samson, the Philistines are attacking!' Samson woke up and thought, 'I'll break loose and escape, just as I always do.' He did not realize that Yahweh had stopped helping him." Judges 16:20
How often we take God for granted. We like to picture God in the image of an indulgent grandfather. We view God as laughing at our antics, encouraging our freedom to express ourselves unreservedly, and promoting little thought to consequences or responsible actions. God is just so loving we need not take a thought for supposed demands on our time, resources, or character. We assume we can just cruise along through life, be better than those who wind up in prison, and expect God to be at our beck and call, even though most of the time we live as though there were no God.
Samson was accustomed to handling God like a puppet on a string. He did not think much of depending upon God. He just accepted Yahweh as present with no strings attached. He could ignore God's command for the people not to marry among the surrounding nations. He could brush aside issues of responsibility for his actions and Yahweh's demand for Israel to live according to prescribed law, not the customs and rules of their neighbors. Samson was part of the chosen people. He lived under the banner of the promise to Abraham. He had phenomenal strength at his disposal because of Yahweh's gift. He was so used to it, he ignored any responsibility toward God for the gift in his care. After all, he had come to consider it his, not the special intervention of Yahweh.
Samson allowed his lust for Delilah to cloud his thoughts and actions. His decisions were not those of one dedicated to God. They were those of a man accustomed to getting his way. He ignored questions of dependence upon Yahweh. Overlooking the conditions of his strength—respect for Yahweh and honoring the regulations placed upon his life—he likewise ignored God in the pursuit of his own objectives. God had always been there, and Samson just took it for granted.
The game with Delilah was one he had played before. He had given her various scenarios as to how he might be trapped beyond the limits of his strength. It had never really occurred to him that by breaking the parameters established for his life he might actually lose the strength Yahweh had granted him. It was, after all, just a game he had been playing with Delilah. Toying with her, he had also been proving himself and allowing himself to believe in her faithfulness to him. He forgot about faithfulness to Yahweh, however. The passions of the moment overcame the tenuous faithfulness and dedication he had toward Yahweh, God of Israel.
In Delilah's arms, he was trying to use the gift of Yahweh to serve his own interests, instead of the purpose for which God had gifted him with immense power. Instead of helping release his people from the oppression of the Philistines, he was abusing God's gift for his personal aims. Responsibility for God's gifting was lost. Dependence upon God was overlooked. He forgot that he was endowed for a purpose higher than his own passions. Samson had lost focus, if he had ever really had a good focus on God's purposes. Are our lives any more attuned to God's purposes than Samson in Delilah's arms?
Assess your track record in following the mission and plan of God for your life. Determine not to take God's gifts and presence for granted.
"Lord, remind me to live for your purposes instead of settling for my own lesser ones."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
How often we take God for granted. We like to picture God in the image of an indulgent grandfather. We view God as laughing at our antics, encouraging our freedom to express ourselves unreservedly, and promoting little thought to consequences or responsible actions. God is just so loving we need not take a thought for supposed demands on our time, resources, or character. We assume we can just cruise along through life, be better than those who wind up in prison, and expect God to be at our beck and call, even though most of the time we live as though there were no God.
Samson was accustomed to handling God like a puppet on a string. He did not think much of depending upon God. He just accepted Yahweh as present with no strings attached. He could ignore God's command for the people not to marry among the surrounding nations. He could brush aside issues of responsibility for his actions and Yahweh's demand for Israel to live according to prescribed law, not the customs and rules of their neighbors. Samson was part of the chosen people. He lived under the banner of the promise to Abraham. He had phenomenal strength at his disposal because of Yahweh's gift. He was so used to it, he ignored any responsibility toward God for the gift in his care. After all, he had come to consider it his, not the special intervention of Yahweh.
Samson allowed his lust for Delilah to cloud his thoughts and actions. His decisions were not those of one dedicated to God. They were those of a man accustomed to getting his way. He ignored questions of dependence upon Yahweh. Overlooking the conditions of his strength—respect for Yahweh and honoring the regulations placed upon his life—he likewise ignored God in the pursuit of his own objectives. God had always been there, and Samson just took it for granted.
The game with Delilah was one he had played before. He had given her various scenarios as to how he might be trapped beyond the limits of his strength. It had never really occurred to him that by breaking the parameters established for his life he might actually lose the strength Yahweh had granted him. It was, after all, just a game he had been playing with Delilah. Toying with her, he had also been proving himself and allowing himself to believe in her faithfulness to him. He forgot about faithfulness to Yahweh, however. The passions of the moment overcame the tenuous faithfulness and dedication he had toward Yahweh, God of Israel.
In Delilah's arms, he was trying to use the gift of Yahweh to serve his own interests, instead of the purpose for which God had gifted him with immense power. Instead of helping release his people from the oppression of the Philistines, he was abusing God's gift for his personal aims. Responsibility for God's gifting was lost. Dependence upon God was overlooked. He forgot that he was endowed for a purpose higher than his own passions. Samson had lost focus, if he had ever really had a good focus on God's purposes. Are our lives any more attuned to God's purposes than Samson in Delilah's arms?
Assess your track record in following the mission and plan of God for your life. Determine not to take God's gifts and presence for granted.
"Lord, remind me to live for your purposes instead of settling for my own lesser ones."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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