Judges 16-18 In God I trust, second only to myself.

March 24th, Judges 16-18

       Samson: His exploits are certainly on a grand scale. It is an inspiration of the power that can well up inside of an individual when God comes upon you. However, his life is also testimony of how your arrogance will get you in trouble. I think Samson was so sure of himself that if he told the truth about the source of his strength he could win anyway. It's easy for us to convince ourselves of our own personal greatness and forget the God who is making things happen.
       His personal story is certainly parallel to the story of the Israelites in the book of Judges. Sin and arrogance followed by capture and shame. Crying out to God for help and walking in a path that honors the Lord.
       As much as we can see the pattern in Judges, it's certainly a pattern that is very real in our walk as well. The process of becoming like Christ is indeed a story of failure, need, repentance, power, change and hope followed by failure, need, repentance, power, change, hope.
       Not sure where you are in the cycle right now. God is at work in all of them. Much like the ongoing story of God and His people, He just keeps working things out.
       The heart behind Samson's motive seems vastly different from the heart of Micah. The beginning of Micah's journey and the end of ours' today is this... "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed. And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord."
        An ongoing theme..."Inquire of the Lord." Good advice!