Great Strength, Combined with Great Weakness
We all have strengths and weaknesses. The challenge of life is to use our strengths well and to minimize the effects of our weaknesses. How can we do that? Samson is a great case study for this. He did not do very well at all, but we can see what we should do by looking at his mistakes.(Judges 14:3)
Samson was blessed with great physical strength, but his great weakness was his relationships with women. His life was destroyed because his weakness brought his strength to nothing. We need to see why this happened, and apply the lessons to our lives. Let me share a few things. I know you can think of even more to add to these.
Samson was led by his flesh. He liked beautiful women, and he thought he had to have them, whatever it took. We could even call this lust. His strong physical desire led him to ignore his parents and the Lord, so that He acted very immorally. This led to all kinds of sins in his life and eventually, it led to his death. This is a basic truth of life. If we are led by our strong physical desires instead of being led by the Lord, it will destroy us.
Samson had the Holy Spirit upon him from his birth, because he was special. God directed his mother to dedicate herself to the Lord and to dedicate Samson to the Lord according to the Nazarite vows. To show their commitment they were not to drink alcohol and Samson was not to cut his hair, among other things. However, the main point is that he could have listened to the Spirit, instead of his flesh. He could have overcome his lust and been used by God in a fantastic way, but he did not choose that route. He failed to stop and think. He failed to follow the Lord's will. All because He was so set on his physical desires. Another basic truth of life is that God is calling to all of us to follow Him by speaking to us by His Spirit. If we listen, our lives will be so much better.
If we follow the Spirit, we can overcome great weaknesses in God's power, but we have to decide to do things God's way, not our way. It is up to us. What will we do?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 15-17.
Samson was blessed with great physical strength, but his great weakness was his relationships with women. His life was destroyed because his weakness brought his strength to nothing. We need to see why this happened, and apply the lessons to our lives. Let me share a few things. I know you can think of even more to add to these.
Samson was led by his flesh. He liked beautiful women, and he thought he had to have them, whatever it took. We could even call this lust. His strong physical desire led him to ignore his parents and the Lord, so that He acted very immorally. This led to all kinds of sins in his life and eventually, it led to his death. This is a basic truth of life. If we are led by our strong physical desires instead of being led by the Lord, it will destroy us.
Samson had the Holy Spirit upon him from his birth, because he was special. God directed his mother to dedicate herself to the Lord and to dedicate Samson to the Lord according to the Nazarite vows. To show their commitment they were not to drink alcohol and Samson was not to cut his hair, among other things. However, the main point is that he could have listened to the Spirit, instead of his flesh. He could have overcome his lust and been used by God in a fantastic way, but he did not choose that route. He failed to stop and think. He failed to follow the Lord's will. All because He was so set on his physical desires. Another basic truth of life is that God is calling to all of us to follow Him by speaking to us by His Spirit. If we listen, our lives will be so much better.
If we follow the Spirit, we can overcome great weaknesses in God's power, but we have to decide to do things God's way, not our way. It is up to us. What will we do?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 15-17.