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The story of Samson in the Bible shows that it is possible to finish strong despite past mistakes.
Samson had a calling from God to rescue Israel from the Philistines. He was uniquely gifted to do so, possessing supernatural strength. But because of his many sins, Samson found himself captured, blinded, and imprisoned by his enemies – forced to labor like an animal.
Nevertheless, God made a way for Samson to fulfill his calling and destroy thousands of Philistines, including all of their leadership. God did this by restoring Samson’s strength at literally the final moment of his life. This is triumphantly recorded in the book of Judges: So Samson killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
It is easy for me to dwell on what I have NOT accomplished. Even worse, I am aware of my own shortcomings which contribute to that condition. Samson, however, is a reminder that I may yet fulfill God’s purpose for my life.
Through the eyes of God’s grace, every tomorrow is – in some way – better than the day before. He gives me strength to finish strong.
In the New Testament, Paul and Barnabas made many converts. Scripture says that they urged those new believers with these words: “By God’s grace remain faithful.” This is very interesting advice.
The new converts were not simply told “Remain faithful,” as if faithfulness was something they could achieve on their own. Had that been the case, they might have devised some formula of disciplines, thinking that by doing certain acts and saying certain words they would be what Christians are supposed to be. They might have written scores of “How To” books and appointed people with charisma or leadership qualities to rise above the rest and tell them what to do. They might have fallen into the trap of feeling spiritually smug when they achieved and guilty when they fell short.
Instead they were told that the key to faithfulness was God’s grace.
I can relate to those converts. Without God’s grace, there is no chance of my spiritual survival. Still, in my everyday life, it’s to my own benefit to maintain communion with God, to seek divine direction, to then choose His ways over my own, etc. I want – even try – to live that way, but ultimately it is only by His grace that I even come close.
The cycle continues. God gives me grace… I try to remain faithful… He gives me grace… I try to remain faithful… He gives me grace… And so forth.
Smith Wigglesworth, a follower of God who lived from 1859 to 1947, said “Pray as though it all depends on God, and work as though it all depends on you.”
Likewise, Paul and Barnabas said “By God’s grace remain faithful.”
It’s the Valentine’s Day season. Words of love and things heart-shaped are everywhere.
The combination of deep emotions and hearts has been around a long time. Jesus said that to love God with all our heart is one of only two things we must do to fulfill the entire law of God. (The other half is to love our neighbor as ourselves.)
The Bible also says “the heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick.” A quick look at the world around us confirms this… so does a look inside myself.
God acknowledges that my heart is full of wickedness. Yet He wants me to love him with that same heart. Somehow He sees through the ugliness and accepts my love, and me.
To offer God the love of a pure, clean heart is impossible. But if I love Him in a desperately sick way, full of selfishness, ulterior motives, and grossly imperfect attempts at overcoming temptation, He’s OK with that. In fact, He longs for it with the deepest desires He knows.
Loving God with all my deceitful heart… It’s the best I can do, but it’s enough.
God has a lot of questions directed His way. Most of them start with the word “Why.” They go like this…
· Why is there so much suffering, and so little done to ease it?
· Why is love not more obvious in people’s actions?
· Why are some in need, while others around them have plenty?
· Why isn’t there more encouragement and happiness in the world?
What’s worse, it often seems that God doesn’t reply. Perhaps that’s because the queries are misdirected.
When I’ve brought such concerns to God, I’ve sometimes sensed Him turning the conversation around and asking me those same things. Of course I’m limited to what just one person can contribute. But He knows that and expects no more.
Inquiring of God is fine. It’s also appropriate to give Him answers.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical when my friend recommended the CD. “Another teaching on the Beatitudes?” I groaned (not in his presence, of course.) “I’ve heard them all.” Admission number two: I was wrong.
The teacher said something that had never before come to my attention. The phrase “poor in spirit” that Jesus spoke is more rightly translated “desperate.” That gives the message new meaning.
“Blessed are the desperate, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,” said Jesus. I’m all for the Kingdom of Heaven, so maybe I can learn to embrace being desperate.
The road to hope, peace, calm, satisfaction, and the like is the path of distress and despair. Desperation, therefore, is not my enemy – it’s my friend. When I see things becoming dire, I’m really close to finding the Kingdom.
I’m not ready to ask God to bring on the desperation. But when it comes, as it does in every life, I hope I’ll remember this. It might at least make the situation bearable. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be blessed.
(Thanks, Frank, for the CD.)
The servant of Abraham, whose name we do not know, was given a task by his master to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac. Out he went. Sitting by a well to rest, he devised an elaborate plot. “If I meet a woman who does this and this and this,” he said, I’ll know she’s the one.”
Along came Rebekah. The servant set the test in motion. Unknowingly, Rebekah responded exactly as he had envisioned the right girl would.
The next step for Abraham’s servant was to get permission to take Rebekah far away from her family to become Isaac’s wife. He went to her home and explained the whole situation to Bethuel, her father, and Laban, her older brother. The servant described in detail exactly the plan he had devised and how Rebekah fulfilled each part perfectly without knowing anything about it. He then said “If you are going to let the girl come with me, say so. If not, I’ll go elsewhere.”
Realizing the significance of the way it had all happened, Bethuel and Laban’s response was simple: “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.”
There are times when I am not pleased with the hand life has dealt me. I want things to be different, and I seem unable to make them so. Circumstances line up to clearly put me on this path or that.
Do I have options in those situations? Well, maybe. And I guess Bethuel and Laban could have refused to let Rebekah go back with Abraham’s servant. The wiser response is to realize that – sometimes – exerting a lot of effort to alter life is fighting against God Himself. (This is never successful in the long run, by the way.) Much better to give in and say, “Whether I like it or not, this is from the Lord; I have no choice in the matter.”
Most likely God says “Sure you do,” then He winks and adds “but really you don’t.” Nonetheless, I think He’s pleased.
I’m tired of Bible teachings. Make that REALLY tired. In well over three decades of church involvement, I’ve heard and read hundreds of them. Ask me how many I remember… not a lot. The number that have really affected my life? Fewer still.
What do I want instead? To know God. To see His character in action, expressed through His followers. To experience the mysterious presence that exists when people come together around a common desire to share love, joy, peace, truth, reality, and the like – and then learn that those are actually Someone’s name.
Thankfully, I’ve been there a time or two. It happened while working shoulder to shoulder, riding with a friend in a car, enjoying a common meal, or sitting around a living room in a group. And, sure, it’s even happened while listening to someone explain scripture. In most of those cases, however, the teacher didn’t realize that he or she was teaching.
The Bible writer James said to be doers of God’s Word, and not only hearers. OK, so hearing isn’t all bad, and I’m sure I’ll keep at it, although – honestly – I think I’ve heard almost enough. Please… somebody show me the doing. And God help me to be a doer myself.
Jesus entered the human race in the weakest way possible – as a baby, completely dependent on others. Similarly, He enters my life at the place of weakness and dependence.
The Son of God is the most real when my strength is the least visible. It is at the point of temptation that I am powerless to overcome, in loneliness that consumes me, in doubts and fears that won’t go away. To ignore those realities or try to conquer them alone is to miss Jesus. When I admit my frailty, I find Him.
Henri Nouwen said, “Where you are most human, most yourself, weakest, there Jesus lives.”
Paul the apostle said, “For when I am weak, then I am made strong.”
An angel speaking to some shepherds said, “And you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
I’m still finding that weak baby today, mostly at times when I admit that I am weak myself. His presence fills the gap, gives me hope, and provides a reason to go on.
Merry Christmas.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been looking for a hero. As a child, that meant beings who appeared ordinary enough, but could fly, see through walls, bend steel in their bare hands, etc. In adulthood, my hero quest centered on those who had character traits I admired, or had achieved a certain level of success.
I think all of us are born with an inner need to connect with something or someone bigger than ourselves. We find a person who can do one thing really well – like sing, act, write, run a company, throw or hit a ball – and we think “Maybe that person is better than the rest of us in other ways as well.” We desperately want that to be the case, so we convince ourselves it is, creating near idols in the process.
In time, however, the truth inevitably comes out… the one I’ve made my hero is revealed for what he really is. Sadly, this often happens via a moral failing or other serious situation, in a very public forum, since these people are typically famous. The cynics cry out condemnations and judgments. The reasonable, and sometimes the de-throned heroes themselves, simply say “He (or she) was merely human after all.”
Those who believe the Bible know that only one not-human person ever walked the Earth. (Yet He was somehow fully human at the same time.) He lived a life completely consistent with His values: loving God and His neighbors, all the way to a horrible and unfair death. A true hero.
When humans who I and others have placed on pedestals fall from those positions, I’m not shocked, angry, or disappointed. I don’t declare how unintelligent they were, or think that I would have done better. It simply confirms that I finally found the only hero worth following… a divine one at that.
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