PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Judges 16:23 ): Just like the Philistines in this verse, I feel I too have been praising false gods in my life, even recently. I may not be directly praising the false gods in my life, but I am giving them my attention; sadly more attention than You at times. Please forgive me for this, Father. Help me to be better for You, for myself, and for my family. Help me to always keep my focus on You, no matter what life may present to me; no matter what life may try to flatter me with. I would not be where I’m at right now if it weren’t for You and I need to remember to keep You lifted higher than anything else in this life. Please continue to remind me and convict me of this, Father.
PROMISE ( Judges 16:17 ): Samson was tricked yet again by a woman he took on as his love. I guess everyone makes bad choices, even those given great abilities like Samson by You to do great deeds for You. In this verse, Samson reveals to her the promise You made to his parents before he was even conceived. He revealed to her that the source of his great strength was from You through his hair being left uncut as a devotion to You. His parents promise to You was that his hair would remain uncut, which Samson abided in for his entire life until this moment. It was not directly his fault, but by revealing the truth of the promise he essentially broke his side of the promise. Unfortunately, Delilah’s intentions were selfish and of greedy roots, so she used this knowledge to break this promise so that Samson could be defeated by the Philistines and she could gain a massive amount of silver. This is a reminder to me that some promises between You and I should remain solely between You and I no matter how much someone in this life tries to persuade me to reveal something.
ATTITUDE ( Judges 16:28 ): Even to the very end of his life and after losing his strength due to his own mistake, Samson remained devoted and obedient to You. In his last act he knew he had lost his strength, but he reached out to You requesting You allow him one final act of strength before his demise. You granted this wish and used him as Your vessel, yet again, to destroy even more Philistines and their temple for their false gods. Samson’s words here remind me that I must always be faithful and obedient to You, even during the rough times, because You are what’s most important. I know I often stray a bit during the good times and lean on You more during the rough times but help me to maintain a proper balance of devotion to You during the various times, Father, just as Samson had done in this scripture.
COMMAND ( Judges 16:23-24 ): I see these verses as a command from You for me to not praise or worship false gods in my life just because it appears to be a small victory from them; just because it may bring me joy in the moment. You are the only God that my focus, praise, and worship should be devoted to and all other “things” in this life are simply things and nothing more. Help me to abide in this command even more than I have, Father. Remind me that You are always with me, but also nudge me in the right direction when You find me looking elsewhere.
EXAMPLE ( Judges 16:28-30 ): Samson lost all of his strength because he revealed the root of the promise You had made to his parents before his conception. This caused him to be captured by the Philistines, tortured by them, and even had his eyes gauged out by them. He had essentially become a slave of theirs to be tormented for their pleasure after all the victories he had previously had over them. That didn’t stop him from reaching out to You to try and be a vessel for You once more. That didn’t stop You from granting him his wish of a final return of strength and victorious demise of himself along with thousands of Philistines. Although he was defeated in the moment it was ultimately You that held the greatest victory here. You used his weakness in revealing the source of his strength and losing that strength to still bless him and Your people with one final and glorious victory over the Philistines with Samson as Your vessel. Amazing example of Your master plan!
*DAILY NOTE: Although I have been struggling with just getting the self-motivation to even start my quiet time as of late, I am so grateful for You, Father. You have been a blessing to my family and I beyond measure and beyond anything I had ever hoped for and I am so grateful. I hope and pray that the lack of sleep last night and the extremely early wake-up is Your way of helping me to get back on track in my spiritual journey. Help me to always pursue You, just as Samson did in this scripture. Help me to always keep You as the focus of my day-to-day journey, unlike the Philistines in this scripture. Thank You for Your support and wisdom, Father, but also thank You for the abundance of grace You have bestowed on me every day!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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