Be Empowered By The Spirit
The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. The people of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?" "We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."
Then three thousand men from Judah went down . . . and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? . . . We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."
"Agreed," they answered, "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting.
The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Judges 15:9-15
Then three thousand men from Judah went down . . . and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? . . . We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."
"Agreed," they answered, "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting.
The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Judges 15:9-15
God is in absolute control of all the happenings on earth. The past, present, and future are all divinely orchestrated. The Bible says not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God's knowledge and God knows the number of hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30). David also reminds us that all the days of our lives have been ordained by God before they come to be (Psalm 139:16). Your life as a child of God has been divinely fashioned and God's desire is that you allow Him to orchestrate it to accomplish His purposes. There is a divine purpose for your existence. We see this clearly manifested in the life of Samson.
God's design for Samson's life, as the angel of the LORD informed his mother, was that "he will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." From birth to death, this was to be Samson's purpose in life. All that Samson did in life, good and bad, seemed to be centered around this one objective: deliverance from the Philistines.
Samson had supernatural strength because of the empowerment of the Spirit of God. Every time Samson did something remarkable, we are reminded that "the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him." The Spirit of God always came upon him for the task at hand.
Using the jawbone of a donkey to kill a thousand men is nothing short of extraordinary, but behind that feat is the divine workings of God's Spirit. The Spirit's empowering presence caused the ropes with which Samson had been tied to fall like charred flax. The Spirit's empowerment caused the jawbone of a donkey to become a lethal weapon that killed a thousand men.
Your life has divine orchestration behind it. With the empowerment of the Spirit, everything that the Enemy seeks to tie you down with can fall off like charred flax and with the simple jawbone of a donkey, you can decimate a thousand adversaries. You can tear up any lion that attacks.
May you and I not live in anxiety because we have a thousand Philistines shouting to take us down. But may we rise up in the power of God's Spirit to decimate the Enemy and fulfill our God-given purposes. Be empowered by the Spirit.
God's design for Samson's life, as the angel of the LORD informed his mother, was that "he will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines." From birth to death, this was to be Samson's purpose in life. All that Samson did in life, good and bad, seemed to be centered around this one objective: deliverance from the Philistines.
Samson had supernatural strength because of the empowerment of the Spirit of God. Every time Samson did something remarkable, we are reminded that "the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him." The Spirit of God always came upon him for the task at hand.
Using the jawbone of a donkey to kill a thousand men is nothing short of extraordinary, but behind that feat is the divine workings of God's Spirit. The Spirit's empowering presence caused the ropes with which Samson had been tied to fall like charred flax. The Spirit's empowerment caused the jawbone of a donkey to become a lethal weapon that killed a thousand men.
Your life has divine orchestration behind it. With the empowerment of the Spirit, everything that the Enemy seeks to tie you down with can fall off like charred flax and with the simple jawbone of a donkey, you can decimate a thousand adversaries. You can tear up any lion that attacks.
May you and I not live in anxiety because we have a thousand Philistines shouting to take us down. But may we rise up in the power of God's Spirit to decimate the Enemy and fulfill our God-given purposes. Be empowered by the Spirit.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, please empower me to fulfill the purpose for which the Father created me.