Choose Your Story's Ending

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Today's Passage: Judges chapters 13-16
Memory Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 1:5-8

Samson: a man among men who was raised up by God Himself to destroy the Philistines.  His birth was as miraculous as those of John the Baptist and Samuel the prophet, because his mother was just as barren as the other mothers.  Similarly, Samson's parents had conditions to follow in order to ensure that he become every bit the man God intended him to be.  But the main difference between him and these other men of God is that after his parents obeyed God and brought him into the world, he allowed his weakness to take center stage.

Funny how Samuel and John were also anointed from birth to carry out God's plan.  But although the Bible says we carry the anointing in these earthen vessels, it doesn't say that they struggled with their human imperfections to the point where God had to take them out in order to stop them from completely destroying His plan.  However, it happened with Samson.  Samson kept falling for the same treacherous women from the Philistine tribe.  And the crazy thing was that he knew exactly what they were after: his anointing.  But he chose to keep letting them in anyway until he played his last gambling chip into the hands of the enemy.

How many times have we as saints been aware of the areas in our lives that have the potential to give the enemy access and compromise our calling, but still left those doors open anyway?  Do we by some misguided sense of needing more than what we think God can give us assume that anyone can fill that void other than Him?  Our pastors have ministered to us the danger of chasing people, places, and things, for the main reason that those are what the enemy can use to drive us far from our destiny.  And that's exactly what happened to Samson.

Time and time again, Samson desired those women more than pursuing God's will.  And time and time again, they betrayed him to his face, as the enemy will do if we allow our hearts, souls and minds to be focused on the things of this world.  Now, notice that God ended up using him in the end.  But do we want our story to be written as "only in death did they submit to God"?  Or wouldn't it be so much more rewarding to spend our lives giving the enemy no access and fighting to bring glory to God with every breath?  I guess time will tell which one we choose.

Prayer: Father, there are thousands of examples in Your Word of the importance of staying totally devoted to You.  But every now and then, we see the life of one of Your children played out as a reminder of how we can let the enemy in, potentially spoiling the chance to truly do something spectacular for Your kingdom.  Let that not be said of us, God.  May we carry Your anointing with soberness and vigilance.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.