Samson

Judges 16:20. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you! When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

The story of Samson and Delilah has been told many times. It has been referenced in movies and stories for a long, long time. Samson was getting nagged by his girlfriend to tell her the source of his strength. He started with bow strings, then new ropes, then weaving his hair in a loom. None of those were true, but did you notice? Each lie got him closer to revealing the truth.

Samson should have known something was up when every time he told Delilah something, the Philistines just happened to show up. I don’t think Samson was top of his class at Zorah Polytechnic High School.  Finally he relents and tells Delilah the truth: if you cut my hair I will be like any other man.

That night Delilah gives him the haircut to end all haircuts. She tells him (for the fourth time), “Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you!”

And then comes one of the saddest verses in the Bible: “When he woke up, he thought, ‘I will do as before and shake myself free.’ But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.”

How sad when we get so caught up in the world around us that we don’t recognize that we aren’t as close to God as we used to be. We are just living our lives, not talking to God or investing in our relationship with him, and then something bad happens to us. We think to ourselves, “I’ve gone through this before, I’ll just trust God.” The problem is you aren’t close to him anymore, you will need to re-establish that relationship with God that you let go dormant.

Stay close to God every day, read your Bible, pray and let God speak to you. Then when the Philistines come for you, you will be ready.

Today’s Readings: Judges 13-16; 2 Corinthians 2