In last month’s manna, “Bald and Beautiful,” we talked about God’s supernatural strength in Sampson. This month I would like to bring attention to Sampson’s natural strength and his greatest folly ever, not leaning on God because of it. I don’t picture Sampson as a wimpy lad wandering around waiting for the Spirit of the Lord to come upon him empowering him. The bible says he was a warrior so I believe he had plenty of natural strength of his own. He had to be ready to battle 24/7, in season and out.
I believe that each of us has some natural strength to walk out what God has called us to do. Let me explain. There is a call; there are gifts; and there are talents, three different things. Each of us has received a call from God to be the light of the world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to reflect that light through the talents God has given us. A talent represents any kind of natural resource we are given. How that glorious Light is expressed through us will be uniquely different for everyone. For example, I am called by God to lead others into His presence. God put that call on me; I didn’t just decide to be a worship leader because I was a musician. He has also given me the supernatural gift of being able to hear His Voice through the sound of music. Furthermore, He has equipped me with a natural talent of making music; there is skill that I need to utilize in order to make that joyful sound to the Lord. With all that said, my natural talent/strength can make beautiful music and touch the soul realm of the listener. Only the anointing of His Spirit will touch the heart.
The problem arises when we begin to gain confidence in our natural skill. When I began leading worship, I was scared to death. I would spend days praying and fasting in hopes that I could get all the way through a song without falling on my face. Thankfully, over the years I have grown more confident. There is nothing wrong with confidence, but so often as our confidence grows in that area, our prayer life diminishes in it. In the bible, prayerlessness is symbolized by sleep. It’s no coincidence that Sampson was sleeping on Delilah’s lap when his hair was cut. When he woke up, he just assumed that he could operate once again as he had always done before. Beloved, please hear this, just because God anointed what you did yesterday doesn't mean that He's anointing it today. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Evidently it was worth repeating because it’s quoted twice both in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25. So often we run out and do something assuming it will work just because it’s worked for us in the past. Sampson ran out in the way that seemed right to him and his enemies captured him. His greatest deception was not Delilah; it was his own strength. The deception comes when our natural talent causes us to lose site of our utter dependency on God.
It would be very easy for me to lean on my experience or a good song list in order to lead worship “well” but then I wouldn’t be leaning on Him anymore, I’d be leaning on my knowledge. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Sampson woke up finding himself once again in a situation where he needed to use his strength and he 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) Sampson got up and ran out as he had many times before but notice, this time he didn’t even know that the presence of the Lord had left him. O’ God, how sad! How is this possible that he didn’t even know? He must have been doing things for a long time in his own strength if he couldn’t even discern the difference between when God was with him and when He wasn’t.
Tears sting my eyes and I tremble deep inside because I know first hand what it’s like to run out apart from the presence of the Lord. I know what it feels like to have turned left when God has turned right only to find myself standing in my own strength and not His. I read this bible passage and an alarm goes off in my spirit as if the Lord is shouting, “Warning, warning, please remember to lean!” What will it take us to get there? Does God have to cut our hair or can we realize it through this glimpse into Sampson’s life? We have an opportunity right now to learn from Sampson's mistake. The more natural talent we have, the easier it is to fall for this deception. However, doing the things that we know how to do does not necessarily mean we are leaning on God.
My calling is quite different from Sampson’s, and yours is probably different from mine. However, one thing that we all have in common is our total dependency on Jesus Christ to help us walk it out. The Lord wants us leaning on Him in all things, always! Seriously, think about it, all things, always, in raising our children, in doing our job, in playing a song. He wants us leaning on Him emotionally, physically and spiritually. He wants us leaning on Him for our next meal, our next promotion, and our next breath, in all things, always.
Consider Moses, he wouldn’t take a step without God, strength or no strength. Moses said, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” (Exod. 33:15) Moses was a man who wasn’t only dependent on God; he was intimate with God. Beloved, in order to lean on someone you need to be close enough to actually physically lean on them. You embrace your supporter and your supporter embraces you. Arm in arm you hold on to that support in order to live, and move, and have your very being. Sampson moved without God yet he didn’t even know it. Moses on the other hand had a face-to-face relationship with the Lord and wouldn’t make a move without Him. As a result of that relationship, the Lord’s glory was reflected off Moses’ face not his call, his gift or his talent; it was reflected off his relationship. The Lord is inviting us today to take this leaning position.
Lord, let us be a people of Your presence and let Your glory shine off our face not our strength. Amen.
