PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Judges 14:4 ): Sometimes we are asked to do things by other people and, unknowingly, what we are asked to do is directly from You, Father. Just like Samson asking his mother and father to get the Philistine women to be his wife, the parents never knew this came from the Lord. Although I do not know what is directly from You and what is not of the things people have asked me to do, I still felt convicted by this verse. How many times has someone asked me to do something, yet I argued or ignored it simply because I wasn’t in the mood, didn’t feel like it or just didn’t agree with it? How many of those refusals by me have come from You, Father? I have also done this when Spiritual brothers and sisters are giving me advice which is Biblically sound, so I know I am guilty here, Father. Please forgive me for my disobedience. Help me to be more like Samson’s parents in this verse. Even though they questioned him a bit, they still followed through with his wishes.
PROMISE ( Judges 14:6, 19 ): In these two verses, we see the promise from the previous chapter starting to come to fruition. You promised Samson’s parents that they would conceive a boy who would become a strong man to free the Israelites from the Philistines. Here we see Samson becoming controlled and empowered by You in order to defeat a lion with his bare hands and defeat 30 Philistines as well. Now THAT is some amazing power and strength which You have blessed him with!
ATTITUDE ( Judges 14:6 ): I find this verse interesting. Samson had this amazing feat of strength thanks to You, yet he chose not to share his testimony with his parents or really with anyone that scripture mentions at this point in time. This must’ve been a command from You, because I couldn’t imagine him not wanting to share such an amazing testimony of praise to You with at least his parents! This would have given them immediately reassurance that Your promise is coming to fruition. I must say, though, the humbleness which Samson shows here as well as obedience to You is amazing. Help me to be more humble in my own life, Father, so that as I try my best to walk in obedience to You, I do so with a humble heart, a humble attitude, and a humble mind.
COMMAND ( Judges 14:4 ): This verse shows us a command, but not directly. Samson was told by You to go out and marry this specific Philistine woman. He used his parents as a vessel for this arrangement, but did not tell them that it was coming directly from You. Samson followed through with it all, however, and showed his obedience to Your will for his life.
EXAMPLE ( Judges 14:17-20 ): These last few verses in this scripture I find kind of funny, but also I see obedience to You being shown here. Samson was with the Philistine woman which You wanted him to be with. I’m going to assume he knew some things about her that he didn’t like, but went ahead with it anyway because You wanted it to happen. Additionally, he was quite upset with her and with the Philistine men which she socialized with that he ended up giving up this woman to another man as well as killed 30 of the men which she gave up the answer to Samson’s riddle to. This testimony shows me that this Philistine woman was solely there for a greater purpose and not an actually to be in a true relationship with Samson. Her name isn’t even mentioned one time that I see in this scripture and that is quite odd to me if she had been someone important. She’s just referred to as the Philistine woman or Samson’s wife and nothing else. This just goes to show that some people are in our lives for a season to serve a very specific purpose and nothing else. I should not get hurt or emotional over losing a relationship so much, because Your master plan is greater than what any relationship in this life can provide me.
*DAILY NOTE: Samson’s testimony appears to be just starting to heat up. With the great strength You are providing him already, I can only imagine what amazing things are to come. I do know bits and pieces of Samson’s story already from movies, kid’s shows, and other people, but I do not believe I’ve ever read his story straight from Your word on my own before. Thank You for revealing this to me, Father. I really enjoyed today’s quiet time. I know I need to work on my obedience to You, Father, as is evident from today’s quiet time. Please continue to work in my heart and mind to keep me on Your path and following Your direction. I look forward to hearing more about Samson’s story tomorrow!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
Comments