GOD IS MY LIGHT

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

What does light do? Illuminate, of course. As we walk in faith, God illuminates our path: His light provides love, direction and protection. But He also illuminates our path so that we can see when we have veered off of it.

As Romans 3:23 informs us (if were were not already aware) we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Indeed that statement  may seem obvious, but when we give conscious acknowledgement to that fact as individuals, we are more apt to do something about it. If we are going to occasionally sin and (let's be honest: almost consistently) fall short, we should know how to respond appropriately when we do. 

In scripture, even the most beloved of God and celebrated examples of faithfulness sinned and fell short. In 2 Samuel, that person was King David. It was the mistake of his life, an act of lust and cruelty: the murder of man for the possession of his wife. Premeditated murder might not be on conscience, but the emotions that led to it definitely are sometimes. We all have selfish moments, lustful moments, greedy moments and moments of vanity. We all act hastily at times, stubbornly, ignorantly, arrogantly. 

And so sometimes God's light is a revelation of an uglier part of ourselves, not to shame us, but to let us know, and to help us grow. David arranged for the death of a good man named Uriah, whose name means: "God is a light." When we look at the damage we have done with accountability we see ourselves in a different light; we perceive circumstances as they really are, objectively removed from the initial emotions that incited us to cause that damage.

• (2 Samuel 11:2-6) DAVID SINS AND FALLS SHORT 

And it came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

2 Samuel 11:2

He was King. She was beautiful. He wanted her... but she was not his. 

It is reasonable to assume that the sheer power David was blessed with inadvertently caused in him a sense of entitlement.  God had blessed David mightily; he was made the sole leader of a wealthy, powerful and protected kingdom. As the sun set over his kingdom, David stood on his roof and observed all that was, essentially, his. But the woman bathing across the way was, certainly, not. But he was king, and she was beautiful. He wanted her, and so he arranged to make her his.

David ordered his messengers to bring Bathsheba to him, and when she arrived he slept with her. Afterward, she went home and soon discovered that she was pregnant with David's child. She knew that the child could not be her husband Uriah's because he was a soldier and subsequently absent from home and wife. 

When Bathsheba returned to David to tell him of the pregnancy, David ordered his soldiers to bring Uriah to him. Uriah arrived under false-pretenses. David inquired about the current conditions of the war and then, in a deceptive act of charity sent Uriah home to his wife as a temporary reprieve from war. He sent Uriah home with food for a feast and told him to enjoy home, to rest. Undoubtedly, David hoped that Uriah would sleep with his wife and subsequently cover up his own sin: If Bathsheba had been with her husband, her pregnancy could be explained. 

Notice how that initial feeling of lust spiraled into an act of murder. Scripture wants us to understand that emotions are powerful, powerful enough to take control over an undisciplined person. Whether we are merely weak or, like David, feel entitled to certain things, emotions can cause us to make reckless and hasty decisions that result in damage. Since we know that we all sin and all fall short, we know that we will also feel depraved emotions like lust. We will feel greedy and jealous and angry and a whole host of ugly emotions. But our sin can end right there, at the feeling of them, before the acting on them.

Also like David, we are blessed by God. He wants us to have the desires of our hearts, Psalm 37:4. But we must be wise and righteous. If obtaining the desire of our heart directly opposes the word of God in nature, is it truly the desire of our heart or is it the desire of a greed within us? By choosing to take a woman who was not his, David chose to cheat and betray a good and honorable man. He chose to disrupt a marriage and tarnish his position as king. We must consider the ramifications of acting on emotions we have not fully processed and deemed honorable. For there is almost always something we would like to obtain, to be ours. If not a person, a job or a reputation or an opportunity. Therefore we need to be able to discern between when it is reasonable for us to pursue something and when it is not.

• (2 Samuel 12:7-12) AN HONORABLE MAN 

But David's dishonest plan backfired. A servant informed David that Uriah chose not to go home, and slept at the door of the king's house instead. When David asked Uriah why he had not returned home, Uriah explained that he could not, in good-conscience, return home to comfort, rest, feast and wife while knowing that his comrades were still engaged in war. Uriah was an honorable man, he had been summoned out of the war by David, but did not forget that his fellow-soldiers were still there sleeping in uncomfortable tents and vulnerable on all sides to the threat of enemies. 

David attempted once more. He commanded Uriah to stay another night, to feast and drink. He hoped that Uriah would drink too much, forget his principles, and return home to Bathsheba... but Uriah did not. Again, he slept outside the king's door. Thus David scrambled for a backup plan, and decided on one that was even worse than the first. He arranged for Uriah to sent to the front-lines of the fiercest battle. Uriah was killed. 

David convinced himself that because Uriah died by the hand of an enemy, he could not be responsible for Uriah's death. It is that kind of behavior, cunning delusion, that God's light wakes us up from. David was wrong from the very beginning of this account, but he convinced himself otherwise. And when he realized he was in trouble, he tried to cover up rather than confess.

Maybe David's scramble for damage control is familiar. We cause a spill but instead of acknowledgement, we choose to try to paint over the splotch, place a rug over its mark. Sometimes we even do a good job of convincing ourselves that the spot is not there because then we do not have to admit that we caused it. 

But David had committed his life to God, and God ensured that this spot would not be so callously covered up. This is a somewhat less enjoyable (at least during the process) element of God's light. He helps us to see our whole selves, even the bits we would rather remain in the dark, unacknowledged. Uriah did not sleep with his wife because it would let David "off the hook". But being on the hook is an important part of being committed to God: accountability is required of the righteous. And it is only from that uncomfortable place, hanging from the hook of admitted guilt and regret, that we have any hope of getting off it.

• (2 Samuel 11:27;12:1-12) THE PARABLE OF REPENTANCE

When David's denial went on too long, God sent Nathan the prophet to make David aware of the gravity of the situation. He did so with a parable. The most accurate way to judge a situation is to view it objectively, God provided a way for David to do so:

“There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

David was immediately angry... the injustice was clear to him, but the metaphor was not. David was the rich man. Uriah was the poor man. Bathsheba was the lamb. A traveler, a passing emotion of lust, came to David and persuaded him destroy a precious thing. A marriage, an honorable man.

Without prompting, David declared that the rich man deserved death as punishment. He declared that the man needed to repay fourfold for his lack of mercy. He did not yet realize that he was condemning himself, but Nathan made it known. He told David that he was the guilty man and continued with a message from God. God had given David an entire kingdom, right out of the hand of his enemy. He had given David power and prosperity, family and security and would have given even more if only David had asked.

God was angry. He put an end to David's game and put a spotlight on his actions. He called him out for every wrong doing, because even though David ignored them, they were glaringly apparent to God. Indeed under God's light, we cannot escape accountability. But there is mercy in such a situation because our God is merciful when we acknowledge our wrongdoing and repent. Repentance is an admission of guilt, and the admission of guilt causes us to feel shame, acknowledgement of poor behavior. Repentance then is a commitment to change and growth. To have God's mercy, we must repent. Until that point, David had not, and the outlook was bad.

• (2 Samuel 12:13-25; Psalm 32) ACCOUNTABILITY

Finally David admitted it: I have sinned against the Lord. Immediately God promised to allow David to retain his life, but the child would die. The child would not die as punishment to David, but as a lesson for us. A deceptive lifestyle will not sustain or produce life. Sinful behavior is caustic and causes good and innocent people to suffer. Injustice restricts the righteous from opportunities they should have.

The child came to death and David lost himself. Finally reality shook him, and confronted him and finally David recommitted himself to prayer and worship. It is in that space that we are all able to take instruction from God and perceive ourselves as objectively as will ever be possible (through the eyes and law of God). We probably will not retain what we gained through malicious or selfish means, but we will regain ourselves. We will restore ourselves to righteousness in the light of God as our lamp.

David and Bathsheba conceived again and the baby lived; baby Solomon became another prominent figure in the faith and was living proof of God's mercy and faithfulness to David and to all who commit their lives to Him. What we seek and obtain righteously, we will retain. Justice and righteousness proliferates life, while injustice and unrighteousness cause death.

David was remorseful, though it is mostly absent from this chapter. In Psalm 32, David described the excruciating emotional pain of iniquity. He also describes the absolute joy of God's forgiveness. The Psalm also reminds us to be receptive to God's instruction in order to avoid creating a minefield of sin. 

• (2 Samuel 12:8) "IF THAT HAD BEEN TOO LITTLE..."

"... and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things"

2 Samuel 12:8

Continually remember that as a child of God, you have access to your Father's storehouses of provision. If there is something you desire to have, let God arrange for that thing to come into your life. Deceptive-dealing is not necessary when you have a generous, faithful, capable, willing God. If there is something you want and it is something you should have, God will ensure that you do have it. Do not let base emotions convince you that you need to procure that thing by any means necessary.

If David had felt unfulfilled in any way, a simple conversation with God would have immediately begun to rectify it. The same is true for us. If we catch ourselves feeling ungenerous toward others or tempted to act on sinful emotions like lust, anger, greed or what ever else, we need to immediately bring that feeling to God. His light will help us to dissect it. He will help us to heal the harm we find when we do.

We will inevitably disappoint God at times in our life, accountability and repentance will make the difference in what happens next.

HONEY ISLAND

Ask yourself: In what way, today, have I invited God to speak to me? At what point have I not just said but behaved as though I am listening? A crucial element of our faith is to be receptive to God. If, like Paul, you found yourself shipwrecked on a small island in the middle of a stormy sea, would you have the faith to discover hope and purpose in the situation?

It is easy to answer yes in the metaphorical sense. But when life leaves us stranded in a situation we did not foresee and do not want to be in, hope and purpose are usually lost to us. The shipwrecked crew in Acts 28 had just personally experienced the grace and power of God that resulted in the retention of their lives. A little sea-beaten but alive in faith and fresh off of the rescue, God was able to exemplify why, out of any island, the one they had come to was honey island.

• HONEY ISLAND

Paul and company discovered themselves to be preserved and on new land... albeit shipwrecked, on an island called Melita, "honey". So often is that the result of our fight in faith, feeling shipwrecked in a new place. We wrestle to subdue the parts within and around us that are not in alignment with God's word and find ourselves on new, unfamiliar ground. But the truth is: that ground is holy, that ground is honey.

In Psalm 119:30 God's word is described as sweet as honey; and throughout the Bible, honey is a representation of faith and health, and the wisdom and love of God. And so to arrive on honey island after a literal and spiritual battle is to arrive into blessing. Honey island is that haven faith brought you to just before you lost or gave up completely. Honey island is the place where God is most efficiently able to heal and restore you, because you have finally arrived in a place where you invite Him to do so. 

The men aboard the ship with Paul had just submitted themselves to God's will. Before God would restore them to voyage, they needed time with Him. To bask in His love and instruction, to become strong enough to retain their faith once restored to their original purposes. From this we can understand how important it is to have the special, isolated time with God. He won't simply send us back out into the world on flimsy faith. We need to build the relationship, experience life from His perspective and observe what is is to operate in accordance with His will. 

• NO LITTLE KINDNESS 

Unforeseen arrivals in an unknown land, Paul and the crew could fully expect not to be welcomed by the island's inhabitants. The opposite happened: all surviving men of the shipwreck were met with extreme kindness and care. They were cold and wet and without bribe or even request were warmed with fire. 

The process of building strength, even spiritual strength, requires time. A new commitment, even a wholehearted one, is often weak and in need of coddling. We have to build our relationship with God. Trust is not an on/off switch. Love is not a well. We can't simply fall into it and remain. Each is a voyage, a process. And thus it is only through walking that we begin to build and grow those things.

What we can expect is that will provide the fire. Cold and wet or weak as we may be, God supports us in that time. New in faith (or in the renewing of faith or a new area of faith) we are seen by God as a fawn or hatching. A small thing in need of support and nourishment. That is the word and will of God. So dependent on it, we must ask ourselves if we have been receptive to it. God is providing, are we receiving? 

• BECAUSE OF THE HEAT

Faith formed in our lives is a fire. Faith ignites inspiration and courage within it. It ignites our determination and passion and purpose. And when we are fired up in such things, it makes sense that the injustices we begin to contend with will bite. 

Paul did a good thing. No matter where he was: on the road; in a prison; or shipwrecked on a island, Paul brought people to God. It was the work and purpose of his life. As the fire grew hotter and began to warm the people around it, a venomous viper came out and bit Paul in the hand. The bite has spiritual implications. 

In the fight for justice we will meet resistance. In the preaching of scripture we will face rejection and even hostility. And that rejection and hostility will always intend to stop our work. To bite our hand, to ultimately thwart our purpose. And that viper, in whatever form it comes in, will  have the power to do so... if we have not been receptive to God. 

The inhabitants of the island were certain that Paul would die. A bite from such a danger could not be survived. And they were right. It could not be survived... without God. There is so much that we cannot do and cannot survive if we are not accessing, through faith, the power and strength of God. But Paul had been receptive to God; he was accessing those holy storehouses and therefore he was impervious to the bite.

God wants us to understand that when we are doing the work of the Kingdom of God we may be confronted by enemies but will never be subdued by them. When we are plugged into faith, we have the nourishment to persevere through derailment. God's protection over us will astound others: the islanders thought Paul a supernatural being because of he survived.

But as God's children, we know the truth. God has told us:Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7. As Paul did, shake the enemies off and continue to preserve in spiritual purpose: in loving others, in providing for family, in assisting strangers and supporting the weak. 

There is an insufficient number of people working such causes! Matthew 9:35-38 tells us so:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

God will protect the laborers because they are few and desperately needed. Those who have welcomed the power and love of God into theirs lives are best able to project it into the lives of others. God's purpose has always been to perpetuate the kingdom, to gather its members and care for them. When we join in that work, our survival is not just crucial but also arranged by God. And when we do eventually come to an end here, as all on earth must do, we will have provided many others with their start. We need not fear the bite of the viper.

• YE ARE GODS 

The islanders were so amazed by Paul's survival that they thought him a god. In John 10:34-35, Jesus referred to God's children as gods. Not because of any power we have of our own. Not because we are better or smarter or more valued but because we have welcomed the power of God into our lives, our hands, our efforts. Our impact on the world is godly because it is done by God through us. Without His wisdom, strength and courage we would fail. 

Paul, the other apostles and disciples were able to heal in immediate and visible ways. The way we heal now is a little different. The same God is able to conquer the same illnesses but spirituality has become more complex. We are stronger now, made able to thrive despite illness. The healing we receive now is of the spirit. We are revived, restored to life. Sometimes we heal in physical ways, like Paul healed the father of Publius in this chapter, and sometimes we do not. But either way, we are a message. A strength, meant to exemplify to others the power of the Spirit of God with us.

Honey island now, is a personal and spiritual experience. We are healed of everything we bring to God, and then are abundantly supplied for our journey back into the world to live, preach with our lives of the honey that is God's word and love.

• BOUND FOR HOPE

The machinations of men, the enemies of Paul, would have made his journey to Rome entirely nonsensical. Paul was innocent and certainly not worthy of death. They had no truthful claims against him. But because Paul was an agent of God's will, there was purpose in the journey.

Paul explained "it is for the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain, (Acts 28:20)" God will ensure there is purpose in every day that we live for Him. We need only to be receptive to what instructions He has for us each day. Broadly, we are meant to love others, uphold justice, and support the weak. What that looks like in detail is particular to the individual. 

Take heart that whatever chain you bear, God use it to benefit you and others and then will break it. 1 Peter 5:10 states:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

We must have and endure the journey of the struggle in order to build the spiritual muscle to come out of it stronger. Wiser. More perceptive and objective and just and compassionate. That time of suffering is packed with nutrients we need to grow in faith, and strength and character. It is packed with the seeds we need to grow great things. That time prepares us to move the mountains God has said we would move.

Although they feel real, the chains in our lives are like play handcuffs. They are temporary, removable and God has the key. To unlock them, we need only to listen to and trust and follow Him to where the key is kept. And in the meantime we must live as Paul lived:

Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

We must live quite undeterred in our mission to perpetuate God's love and receive it also for ourselves. The journey for Paul could  have been ridiculous and a waste of time. It could have been a depressant and an end. Instead Paul kept His eyes on God, his life on track, and his faith forward. His life resulted in blessing.

I HAVE BEEN A NAZIRITE

In scripture, when something important and divine is about to happen through a person, it often begins with their parents' temporary infertility. It happened to Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and in this bit of scripture, to Samson's mother. Though the parents interpreted their childlessness as faultiness, God had simply placed a pause on their ability to conceive. And the reason is because He has a plan and a place for that child to be born into. He arranges the perfect circumstances for that child to live out his specific purpose within the grand scheme of God's plan; we learn how that applies to our own life through the life of Samson in the Book of Judges.

Superficially, Samson comes across as a bit of a contradiction; in comparison to the sanctity that surrounded his conception, the choices Samson makes in his life seem rather reckless. But God was behind all of it, and the intended end result achieved. 

• BIRTH OF SAMSON, THE NAZIRITE 

An angel was sent to the mother of Samson both to inform her of her impending pregnancy and to instruct her on how she was to rear the child. God wanted Samson to be raised as a Nazirite, which meant that from conception, his mother was not to imbibe alcohol or eat any unclean foods. She was also instructed to never cut her son's hair. God was arranging for a child to be born as a representative of dependence on the will of God. 

Samson's parents heeded the word of the angel once Samson was born; he grew and the Lord blessed him. So is it then strange that once grown, Samson's first recorded act was to deliberately contradict God's word? For Samson fell in love with a woman forbidden to him, a woman of an ancient people called the Philistines who believed in false gods and lived corruptly. In Deuteronomy 7:3, God taught His people to marry like-believers, because non-believers would lead them away from their faith. Samson's parents were troubled by their son's request for the Philistine woman. Yet Samson insisted, and the reason why was given to us: "it was of the Lord,... he sought an occasion against the Philistines."

God had a plan to infiltrate the Philistine nation, via Samson and make a display of His power against the power of their false gods and corrupt lifestyle. So God encouraged Samson to marry a Philistine, creating an opportunity for another region of the world to hear what He has to stay about corruption. 

• STRONGER THAN A LION

While walking through a vineyard, Samson came across a young lion. Normally this would be a terrifying situation. But actually this was a personal moment between Samson and God, arranged of course, by God. For the Spirit of God came mightily upon Samson, and Samson was able to tear open and kill the lion. And this occurrence happened to exhibit the strength of God within Samson; the famous strength of Samson, so wrongly attributed to Samson, actually came from God. 

The whole situation serves as this metaphor: within the vineyard, that is: the protection of God, we have strength enough from God to be stronger than the enemies that happen upon us. All of this happened before Samson took the woman as his wife. When he returned to the place to retrieve her, he came across the deceased lion. This time, the lion was filled with honey, and Samson ate it. 

In other words: Samson recognized that his strength came from God. It's not important that Samson ate honey out of a lion, his strength was not sustained by the honey. It is important that Samson was sustained by the honey, the word and strength and will of God. He took all of it into his life, body, mind and soul. It was sweet. 

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 19:9-10... The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

Yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Samson then turned his experience into a riddle in order to churn up the Philistines: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." The riddle captured the attention of the Philistines. Samson's experience with the lion procured an audience, and Samson the Nazirite was on the stage. The riddle churned up the people. They wanted the answer, but of course were unable to guess it. They did not witness Samson with the lion or the carcass with honey. But the real reason they were unable to answer the riddle was because they did not know the word of God. They did not have the spiritual wisdom to figure it out.

So the people told Samson's wife to pull the answer from him and to pass it on to them; they were desperate for the answer because they had made a large bet that they did not want to lose. She agreed. She wept and guilt-tripped Samson into telling her answer to the riddle: "What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?"

Indeed Samson answered the riddle with two questions. The answer to those two questions was the heart of the issue: God. Not the machinations of people. Not the might of a man. God. A lesson the Philistines needed to learn. In Deuteronomy 9:4, God explained that His campaign against nations such as the Philistines was due to their wickedness. God infiltrated their camp with His message in an effort to teach them about righteousness. Samson told the riddle, not because he was tricked but because it was meant by God to be told.

• WITH THE JAWBONE OF A DONKEY

Samson continued to pretend to be out-played by the Philistines. He allowed himself to be captured by the Philistines after a retaliatory attack he made on them when they remarried his wife to another man. While bound at wrists with cords, the Spirit of God came mightily upon Samson once again and the cords came off of his hands. Freed, Samson picked up the jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand men. The metaphor in this, even when the resources are limited, the strength of God is not. The Philistines were unable to subdue or even thwart Samson because of God's spirit over his life. 

Samson thanked God for the victory, and then became thirsty. He thought the extreme thirst would kill him. The symbolism is that without provision from God, the spectacular display of strength would have killed him. But because Samson remembered God in victory, God remembered Samson in his near moment of defeat. God provided water, the living water (John 4:13-14), and revived Samson's spirit. If we are going to achieve beyond the boundaries of human ability, we need divine sustenance. 

If we are going to achieve as soldiers within this righteous army, we need God. If we are going to change the world with the mere, metaphorical, jawbone of a donkey, we need to remember God. Our spirits need to be sustained and revived by Him.

• FOR I HAVE BEEN A NAZIRITE 

It became the sole intent of the Philistines to find out where Samson's strength came from. God had neatly arranged the situation. The answer they were so desperate for was the message God wanted, all along, to give them. 

Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, but their story was not of love. Delilah worked with the Philistines in a deceptive plot to unearth the "secret" of Samson's great strength. Once they found out, their plan was to overcome Samson, bind and afflict him. In three attempts, Delilah asked Samson the source of his strength. Three times Samson lied.

• “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

• Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

• Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.”And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”—

Every time Samson gave Delilah an answer, she betrayed him and called the Philistines to attempt to subdue and capture him. They were, each time, unable to do so. In allowing himself to be betrayed by Delilah, Samson displayed to the Philistines that the source of the strength he had was different than all other sources of strength.

And then Samson told Delilah the truth.

Samson explained that his strength came from his vow as a Nazirite: "for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb." But to Delilah and the Philistines, it seemed as though he was saying that his strength came from his hair. They would soon learn to discern the difference. They heard: if you cut my hair, my strength will leave me. But Samson actually meant that if he was ever cut off from God his strength would leave him. If he ever betrayed his vows to this cause of righteousness, his strength would leave him. The hair was merely symbolic. 

With the truth, the Philistines were finally able to capture Samson. They shaved his hair and bound him. When Samson attempted to run away as before, he realized that the strength of God left him. They put bronze chains around Samson's hands and imprisoned him.

But Samson's hair began to grow back.

Delilah is infamously known as a betrayer. But did her manipulative antics cause Samson to succumb to temptation and abandon his God?  No, God, with Samson, out-maneuvered Delilah and everyone else. Samson divulged the "secret" precisely when he was meant to, as he was meant to. As he was destined to do even before birth! 

Indeed Samson's hair began to grow right back. His hair, the symbol of God as His strength, his vow of a Nazirite never to cut it or change faith. It grew back, immediately. His strength grew back, because strength from the Lord is not something someone else can ever take away from you.

• THE TEMPLE OF THE FALSE GOD

The Philistines were so ruthlessly excited about capturing Samson that they decided to offer a great sacrifice to their "god" Dagon. And this is where God's plan finds fulfillment. The Philistines were ignorantly convinced that their false-god was stronger than Samson's God, our God. They thought that Dagon had broken Samson's strength. But it was actually God who had temporarily, and for the purpose of teaching the Philistines a lesson, removed Samson's strength and allowed him to be captured.

With the temple of their false god filled with men and women, the Philistines brought Samson up from his prison cell to perform. They thought the performance would lame and weak; after all, they believed they had subdued Samson. They meant to mock him. Samson entered the temple, thousands of Philistine eyes on him. And as all of them were gathered together for their false god, Samson called aloud to the True. Samson prayed aloud for the strength of God he had known all his life... and he received it. Samson placed his hands on each of the two supporting pillars the temple and pushed. The temple of the false god came pouring down in a great display of the strength of the True God. God's campaign against the Philistine's wickedness accomplished through Samson.




God placed Samson in perfect position to make an incredible display of God's unbeatable strength. Samson will not have been the first (or the last) to discover that what God considered to be the "perfect position" was often a prison cell surrounded by enemies. Because God, and Jesus, have the intent to spread the righteous word of God throughout the world. This message of righteousness is meant for the people who live in opposition to it. In order for the message to be heard by the right people, God places His people in what at first appear to be the wrong places. Betrayed, captured and imprisoned, Samson was exactly where God wanted him to be! 

The takeaway for us is that if we are committed to God's cause of righteousness, He is working through us to accomplish His purposes. Whether we realize or not, God is working in the details of our lives. He is expertly using our life and voice and choices to accomplish the plan He made for us before we were born.