I Didn't Even Notice He Was Gone
Do you want to know what the scariest verse in the Bible is? Nope, it isn't the one about hellfire and brimstone, though that is definitely scary.
Every time I read the story of Samson, this little phrase jumps out at me and pins me to the the wall: "…he did not know that the Lord had left him" —Judges 16:20b. Mind you, some people might wonder why God hung around Samson up until his "Delilah-moment" anyway. I'm guessing that up until this moment, Samson's actions, as strange as some of them might have been, were part of God's program for the Philistines. But caving in to Delilah and breaking his vows as a Nazarite, was "over the top."
God wasn't taken by surprise by what Samson did in telling Delilah the secret of his strength, but that act caused a reaction that none of the other weird and wonderful acts of Samson did not cause. God left Samson. But as if that wasn't scary enough, Samson didn't even notice that the Spirit of God was gone.
I ask myself how many times I've plowed ahead on my own and not noticed that I AM on my own. We know that the Spirit of God indwelling the believer is always there. As the seal of our salvation, He takes up permanent residence in us. But how many times have I yanked the controls out of hands, gone off on my own without His blessing and basically relegated any consultation with God to the backwaters of my mind? How many times have I done it and not noticed that God wasn't blessing me because I was far out of step with Him?
I wonder what would have happened if Samson had kept his vows to God? Certainly the Philistines would have been punished, but perhaps Samson's story would have had a better ending. Once you realize that you are not on the same track as God, the journey can be a very lonely and painful one.
Every time I read the story of Samson, this little phrase jumps out at me and pins me to the the wall: "…he did not know that the Lord had left him" —Judges 16:20b. Mind you, some people might wonder why God hung around Samson up until his "Delilah-moment" anyway. I'm guessing that up until this moment, Samson's actions, as strange as some of them might have been, were part of God's program for the Philistines. But caving in to Delilah and breaking his vows as a Nazarite, was "over the top."
God wasn't taken by surprise by what Samson did in telling Delilah the secret of his strength, but that act caused a reaction that none of the other weird and wonderful acts of Samson did not cause. God left Samson. But as if that wasn't scary enough, Samson didn't even notice that the Spirit of God was gone.
I ask myself how many times I've plowed ahead on my own and not noticed that I AM on my own. We know that the Spirit of God indwelling the believer is always there. As the seal of our salvation, He takes up permanent residence in us. But how many times have I yanked the controls out of hands, gone off on my own without His blessing and basically relegated any consultation with God to the backwaters of my mind? How many times have I done it and not noticed that God wasn't blessing me because I was far out of step with Him?
I wonder what would have happened if Samson had kept his vows to God? Certainly the Philistines would have been punished, but perhaps Samson's story would have had a better ending. Once you realize that you are not on the same track as God, the journey can be a very lonely and painful one.
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