Difference three: Motives. Samson repeatedly dishonoured the Lord by his actions and his lifestyle. That’s because he had no regard for God’s honour. What a contrast Samuel was! When Israel wanted a king in order to be like all the surrounding nations, it broke his heart. He said to the people, ‘The LORD your God was your king.’ Honouring God was his highest priority. And there’s a lesson here for us, especially those in ministry.
Every time someone steps behind a pulpit, they must check their ego and ask themselves the motive question: ‘Is my aim to make God look good, or myself look good?’ And it’s a hard question to answer. The Bible says, ‘For the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed’ (1 Samuel 2:3 NKJV).
The truth is that without the power of God’s indwelling Spirit, none of us have what it takes to do the job, and we must never forget that. The tragedy of Samson’s end is described in these two Scriptures: ‘He awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him’ (Judges 16:20 NKJV). ‘So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them’ (v. 25 NKJV).
Note the word perform. Without God’s grace and power we are all, at best, just performers. So stay humble, and seek only to exalt the Lord.
Bible in a Year: Genesis 41-42, Matthew 12:1-21
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