SEARCHLIGHT
Have you ever distanced yourself from God?
SCRIPTURE
But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Judges 16:20b NIV
He didn’t realize that God had abandoned him. Judges 16:20b Message
SPOTLIGHT
What does a person have to do in order for the Lord God to leave that person on their own? The answer may be found in how a person can distance himself from God.
Samson was a great man of faith. He is named in the Hebrews Hall of Faith. [Hebrews 11:33,34] However, he was also unfaithful. His story is told in Judges 13 to 16. Warren Wiersbe said, “Samson was a man of faith, but he certainly wasn't a faithful man. He wasn't faithful to his parents' teaching, his Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6:1-21), or the laws of the Lord.”
God set Samson apart from conception for a high purpose. He was to be the champion of the Israelites against their enemy the Philistines. Never forget that you were made by God for God’s special purposes. Samson’s uncut hair was a sign of his dedication and devotion to God. Unfortunately, he viewed this with a casualness which led to his downfall. Never forget that your relationship with God must always be the #1 priority in your life in order to maintain God’s richest blessings.
How does someone distance themselves from God? Samson gives us the answer. Here are some more ways a person can distance himself/herself from God:
- When you allow sensual passion to be stronger than desiring to honor God. Samson continually allowed his emotional drive to guide him into wrong relationships.
- When people in your life are pretenders. Moral weakness robs a person of making wise choices. All the women in Samson’s life were deceivers. Samson refused to see that. He was not a good judge of character because he, himself, was blind to his weaknesses.
- When you allow the good you are doing to justify the grey area in your life. Grey area is when you are not sure if something is right or wrong, good or bad. You compromise and allow it rather than shunning it. Probably Samson had told himself many times that what he was doing with the Philistine women was alright because he was opposing the Philistines.
Here are some more ways a person can distance himself/herself from God:
- When you ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus described this in John 16:8- 11
- When you do not confess sin. Jesus taught us to daily confess our sin which means we examine our daily activities. See Matthew 6:12.
- When you do not forgive. Jesus taught us to forgive people who sin against us.
- When you disregard the importance of spending time with God. Never do we get a glimpse of Samson’s devotional life like we do of Ezra, Nehemiah, Job or David.
- When you disregard the importance of church community. Hebrews 10:25 states, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
- When you do not realize that your relationship with Jesus far exceeds any other. Hebrews 2:1-4 warns about the possibility of drifting away.
It is possible for a believer to have faith but not be faithful. The question is how long will it be before God abandons you to your willful ways? It is really not worth waiting to see. Instead, be careful to allow God to lead you rather than your heart which can deceive you. If you are emotionally driven, you will be morally weak. And be careful of the “white lies” you tell yourself and others. They are so “innocently” deceptive. Also do not forget who you share your secrets with. Putting it positively, you should seek to always obey God’s principles and commandments. He really does know how to design the best life for you.
God gave Samson strength. Samson, unfortunately, relied on his own strength instead of God’s.
What makes you a blessed person is your devotion to knowing God. Without God you are on your own. With God you are invincible. Rather than distance yourself from Him, determine every day to know Him better.
SOMETHING TO DO
Prayerfully ask God if there are any things in your life that you watch or read that are in the grey area. Do you tolerate any suggestive words, themes or entertainment that you once considered offensive?
Check out James 4:6-10. Name all the action steps this passage mentions in order to draw closer to God.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, never do I want to distance myself from You. Help me to recognize when I am facing a compromising situation. Give me Your power and strength to do what is honoring to You. Remind me of what I need to do and not do in order to come to know You better.
AMEN!