ARE YOU IN THE PROPER POSITION?

DAILY WORD

11/9/22

17. So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men.

18. So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer: “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?”

Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!”

Judges 14:17–18 NLT

Alright, Today’s Passage is a harsh one, in which the catalyst for Sampson’s actions against the Philistines is initiated. Put yourself in his sandals and imagine for a moment what you would do in his situation. Your new wife has betrayed you to a bunch of men you know do not have your best interest in mind. How would you react?

We’re talking about a man who’s taken a decided risk, choosing a woman of an enemy nation to wed, and who would be currently surrounded by those enemies. He would have known immediately, given his wife’s reaction to his refusal to tell her the riddle’s answer and the attendee’s correct response to it, what had transpired.

From his retort, we know Sampson knew how the men had discovered the answer to his riddle. There was no other way for them to have found it out than to have coerced his new wife. Her irritating pleas throughout the week’s festivities underpinned his suspicions.

Sampson was the only one who knew it until he told his wife, and as soon as she knew, the men came to him with their answer. It was as if the men attending the banquet were rubbing their violent threat in Sampson’s face. Why else would they have committed such an egregious act? They had to have known he would figure out how they got the answer; they apparently just didn’t care.

Turns out that would be a mistake on their part, but that’s a matter for another day. Before we get to that, let’s take a look at what Sampson was doing there in the first place. To find out, we must first harken back to Verse 4 of the chapter to remind ourselves how God’s Judge over His Chosen people, Israel, began this journey into danger.

That Passage tells us that despite how poor his judgment seemed, Sampson’s actions were prompted and initiated by The Lord. So, even though we may perceive his deeds as reckless, overtly impious, and immoral, we can’t forget that this is all God’s doing! And that brings us to Today’s Lesson.

Never assume that the situation you’re experiencing, even though it’s seemingly a bad thing, is not Directed by God. As we proceed through The Story of Sampson, we will see that his extreme circumstances place him precisely where God wants him to accomplish His Will.

Sampson may not even be aware of his action’s outcomes, but he is still in the proper position to accomplish God’s purposes. And that is Today’s Lesson! Put yourself in the right place to be used of The Lord, and He’ll put you in position. There’s no better individual to do it cause He knows the Plan.

So, when you’re sure that you have done all, you can to prepare for what you know you’ve been called to do, and things start to go sideways on you, consider this. God is still in control, and that feeling of powerlessness and confusion is entirely natural. It is the realization that you are not in control at all. That’s the point!

We have no idea which is the right way to go. We must rely on God’s Wisdom to be sure we are not heading off track. That means that sometimes, we will have no idea if we are on the correct path or have taken a wrong turn. That’s where Faith comes in.

When we truly Trust God, none of the confusion or inability will even matter anymore because we have given up our command, and placed it in the Hands of a Superior Intelligence! He knows how to get the most out of every situation, including our feeble attempts to follow His Lead.

Sampson was exactly where God wanted him, even if he was still willful and doing it all out of an incorrect motivation. But if we expect God to use us, we may have to be a bit more focused than he was.

It takes preparation, concentration, and motivation to employ the proper application of God’s Will in our lives, and it takes Faith to commence the demonstration. If you hear God’s Call, answer it and trust Him. He knows what He’s doing, and He’ll never steer you wrong, no matter how it looks, because God Promised that He’d never leave or forsake us and that He’d work even our worst situations for our good. The question is, do you believe that enough to lean into it?

Have a Wonderful Wednesday And Remember, If God’s Got Your Back, You Have Absolutely Nothing To Fear!

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