March 28 – Judges 16:15-22

 

March 28 – Judges 16:15-22

¹⁵ And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. ¹⁷ And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹ She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. ²¹ And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. ²² But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson’s pride blinded him long before the Philistines did.  Do you ever find you are blind to problems in relationships, or maybe blind to needs of others until it might be too late?

Don’t be blind to the need of Jesus to those around you.  Be sure you are sharing the good news of Jesus with those you love.

Heavenly Father, there are so many times I can look back and see in hindsight things that I should have been aware of.  Sometimes I see You were trying to open my eyes, but I seemed to blindly move forward.  There have been times I should have given people the benefit of the doubt but I was wary and couldn’t trust them.  There have been times I trusted people when I should have been more cautious.  If I would only keep my eyes on You, I wouldn’t make those kinds of mistakes.  I know there are also times You were guideing me all along the way, and things didn’t go as I thought they would, but You were there.  I know you were.  I have to remember that You never said things would be easy, and they certainly aren’t always what we think of as “normal”, but You are always right beside me.  You are there in the times it is easy, and you are there through the times that I feel like I’m alone in a wilderness.  I know I am never alone, no matter what I am facing, because You love me and promised me I would never have to walk alone again.  Thank You Father, for loving me more than I can understand.

In Jesus’ name.

Amen!