Do you remember a time in life when you had it all? Do you remember being young, strong, had all you wanted and weren’t afraid of anyone or anything? You may have called yourself “Christian” and chose to believe even though you were of a “proud” nature; you could do what you wanted. If you got in too deep you could just give God a call and be bailed out.

There was a man in history with an attitude sort of like that. You see, his parents did not have children; but an Angel of the Lord told them they would have a son. How happy they must have been. Oh, but there was a catch! This son was separated for special service to God. He was to “begin to deliver Israel…” He grew to be a very strong and, it would seem, a self-indulgent person. He began to slay some of the enemies of his people, but like many of us in this world, he fought his battles and lived his life his way.

Eventually this brought him into real trouble. He was warned that he was being attacked and said: “I will go out as before, at other times.” He did not ask God for help or what he should do. That was when we read in Judges 16:20 that: “he did not know that the Lord departed from him”; God chose that Samson be born into this world to serve a special purpose; the beginning of the delivery of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Up until Samson had a haircut, he could have convinced himself he was okay. After the haircut he might have wished he had changed some of his ways and the company he had kept, maybe even chosen to live a lifestyle closer to the desires of his parents.

We need to ask ourselves if we are trying to live on the edge as Samson was, and fooling ourselves about who gives us our strength, or are we asking God for strength every day to guide us through the battles and trials life puts in our way? “I have been crucified with Christ.- It IS no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

How about you” Are you living your life your way and call upon God when it is convenient or expedient? Do you live a life of your choosing only to give God your leftovers? We least learn from Samson’s example. We must learn to humble ourselves before the Lord and turn our whole lives over to Him. You and I were born into the world for a special purpose. We can fulfill our real purpose only through a life lived as a true servant of God. Not as the self-serving person the world would have us believe we should be. Eric