August 25, 2022

Judges 16: 20 (NIV)

Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

Do not count too much on the patience of a holy God.*

In Judges, chapters 13 through 16, we read the life story of Samson and, until chapter 16, verse 14, about how the Lord was with him. It’s ironic that Samson finally became “tired to death” of Delilah’s nagging him to reveal the secret of his strength around the same time that God became tired of him.

It’s sad that Samson did not know that the Lord had left him. Our peek into his life reveals that Samson may not have known the Lord had left him because he wasn’t aware that the Lord had been with him in the first place. He seemed to believe that he was operating under his own strength. Yes, he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to cut his hair but would he have told Delilah his secret if he really expected his strength to leave him? How would our life-choices change if we really believed that we do everything through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4: 13)? Do we believe that apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15: 5), or are we pretty confident of our own strength? Would we notice if the Lord left us?

We might wonder at God’s patience with Samson. It’s pretty amazing that God stuck with him through all his shenanigans – but then, the same could be said of us. We rely heavily on God’s patience while we give in to temptation, insist on having our own way, refuse to forgive others, and ignore God’s will for our lives.

 

Samson made many poor choices in his lifetime, not the least of which involved women and brawling. Each of us has our own set of struggles. Let us learn from Samson’s mistakes that God is the source of our strength and that God’s patience is not without end!

What vanity ever tempted me to suppose I could withstand . . . evil on my own strength, my own resourcefulness, my own innate human dignity!*