Skip to content
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!” Judges 15:13-16
I wrote about the call of God on Samson in the last devotional. He was called to defeat the enemies of God and specifically the Philistines. The account of Samson in the book of Judges shows that he had great success in conquering his enemies and single-handedly overcoming them. Samson was a strong man and was able to kill a thousand men all by himself.
In some ways, Samson reminds me of Goliath (See 1Samuel 17). Just as Israelites were intimidated and were trying to kill Goliath, the Philistines knew Samson’s reputation, and they looked for every opportunity to trap him and make him ineffective. What is truly the difference between Samson and Goliath? It is not necessarily their character but the call of God. The difference is that Samson was on God’s side, and he was helping the Israelites, but Goliath was on the side of enemy and wanted to kill the Israelites.
While Samson had great success in his life, he was also a hot-tempered man who used his strength to get back at those who made him angry. We cannot make a success formula out of Samson’s life because he was such a mixture of God’s will and self will! Samson doesn’t fit our ideal picture of a Godly Biblical character because in one instance he is doing the will of the Father and at another instance he falls prey to his own passions.
Does that remind you of some people you know? Does that remind you of you? We can be so spiritual and self-controlled in one moment, but at another moment, we can give in to anger and frustration wondering if we even know what self-control means.
Samson continued to get away with his hot temper, but in the midst of his carnality, he did the will of God! Isn’t it amazing that God was able to use Samson in spite of his big issues!?
God’s ways are truly higher than our ways! God chose and called Samson to serve Him in His Kingdom. This man was flawed and at times out of control!
Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” Judges 13:1-5
A prophetic word came to Manoah and his wife through the angel of the Lord prophesying of the upcoming conception and the birth of a baby boy. He was going to be consecrated to the Lord as a Nazirite. The angel told the mother to abstain from wine, and she was told that the child was to abstain from wine all the days of his life as well. The child was also never to shave his head. The parents did what they were told to do (See Judges 14). The boy was born, and they named him Samson.
A Nizirite vow was nothing new to the Israelites. This vow is explained and specified in the book of Numbers in chapter 6 for those who desired to consecrate themselves to God. Generally this vow was for a period of time for a person to abstain from certain things until such a time that they went to the temple to offer their sacrifices. However, in the case of Samson, God called him to become a lifelong Nazirite for the specific purpose that God had for him.
As for Samson, his parents did everything God asked them to do, but unfortunately good parents did not guarantee a right character on the part of Samson. Nowadays blaming someone’s bad behavior on his/her childhood is the norm. However, Not all ungodly or marginal behavior is due to bad childrearing. We all have choices to make. We can exercise our choice for good or for evil. We can move in the direction of following God or moving away from Him. Samson could not have blamed his lifestyle on his parents’ failure to raise him right.
Samson became a judge to help deliver the people of Israel from the hands of their enemies and specifically the Philistines. Samson did not have a military as some of the other judges did. God had given him strength to fight these people single-handedly. Unfortunately, the very people he was supposed to overcome, became his Achilles heel.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war. Proverbs 20:18
If God has led us in a certain direction, we will most likely be faced with opposition. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy the purposes of God and what He desires to establish on the earth (See John 10:10). When we walk with God, and we have allowed our plans to be established by wise counsel, the enemy will wage war against us and our potential success. That’s why it is so important not to get into situations half-heartedly.
When Nehemiah heard about the condition of Jerusalem, he prayed and fasted for a few months (See Nehemiah 1). During that time, God gave him a strategy. God used the Persian King to support Nehemiah with all the goods and the time he needed to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. Nehemiah did not rush into this situation blindly or emotionally. He only moved into action after having taking the matter to the Lord and God making His plan and strategy clear to him. Once the strategy and the provision was made available to Nehemiah, there was no turning back for him.
But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” Nehemiah 4:1-2
While Nehemiah was busy working, the jealous adversarial people came to stop his work and his progress by making false accusations about him. Since he hadn’t done anything wrong, he didn’t give them any opportunity to address their issue. He knew they were just a distraction, and that’s how he treated them. The presence of adversarial people, didn’t make Nehemiah wonder if God was trying to have him change directions. He knew very clearly that God was with him to complete the task. Nehemiah and his counterparts waged war with one hand and built the wall with the other. (See Nehemiah 4:16-18). The scripture tells us in Ephesians 6 that the word of God is our sword of the Spirit. We wage war by using the word of God against the attacks of the enemy.
Is there a resistance on your path? It is not easy to persevere, but God calls us to wage war with the counsel and the strategy we have received. God is with you, and He will make a way where it seems to be no way. Nehemiah was able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in only four months. That is amazing! This was only possible because of God’s help, strategy, and the assistance he provided through the King and the locals to get the job done.
Sometimes making major plans can seem overwhelming and even feel paralyzing, but God gives us ways in which we can navigate through them the right way and be successful in our endeavors. Goal setting doesn’t have to be a fearful process when we have taken the time to prayerfully consider our plans and receive Godly counsel to accomplish the goal.
Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war. Proverbs 20:18
Generally, if people are intent on going in a certain direction, they shy away from getting counsel because they don’t want anyone to slow them down or say “no” to them. I would rather have someone share a nugget of truth to cause me to slow down than move fast with my half-baked idea in a problematic direction!
Sometimes, pride gets in the way of asking for counsel. Some people think asking for counsel is for the weak or the immature believers. The truth is none of us have experienced everything in life, and it would be better to glean from someone else’s insight or experience than to reinvent the wheel. The beauty of receiving counsel is that we are not obligated to follow it. However, we now have a responsibility to weigh all the information gathered and prayerfully make a decision that is based on wisdom rather than ignorance.
Getting Godly counsel gives us a greater confidence about being on the right path. When difficulties come, we are less likely to back down or quit because we are not wishy washy about the decision. The above scripture tells us that we will wage war with wise counsel, which implies there will be resistance on our path. Wise counsel will allow us to fight the self-defeating thoughts, the enemy’s accusations, and the nay sayers’ voice because we have done our due diligence to be sure we are moving in the right direction.
On the other hand, if we move hastily into a certain direction, in the back of our mind, we are wondering, “Was this me or was this God? Is God trying to speak to me or is this the devil trying to derail me?”. The greater resolve we have at the beginning, the clearer our path is going to be in the middle of the battle.
How do we wage war while making plans? This is the subject of the next devotional.
How do we, as believers, set goals in a Godly way?
I am naturally a goal setter. When I have goals in life, I am much more motivated. However, there was a season in my life when I felt that I had to surrender all my goals and dreams to the Lord and wait for Him to move in my life. I thought not having goals was more spiritual. This ended up being a frustrating experience, which led me to feeling stuck for a long time.
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9
After years of waiting, I finally sought counsel from mature believers who told me making plans is not necessarily a bad thing. They told me that if my plan is not against the principles of God, it is not a problem because He gives us the ability to reason and choose. It took me a while to get used to the idea of making plans because I was fearful for being out of the will of God. I had to let go of the idea that making plans was a carnal activity.
When God called Noah to build the Ark, it must have taken great planning to accomplish such an enormous task (See Genesis 6). God gave him the specifics but Noah would have still needed to do the planning for such an extensive project. It is estimated that it could have taken Noah up to 65 years to complete the Ark. He couldn’t have just woken up every morning and decided to go with the flow. It would have required planning and scheduling for months and years in order to complete this project. God had given Noah an assignment, and he was diligent to do His work, stay on task, and do it in a timely manner.
My husband and I did an extensive remodel in our house years ago. We picked a construction manager and gave him our specification for the size and the placement of rooms. He along with an architect drew a blueprint to our specifications. After our agreement on the blueprint, we were not involved in the day to day construction. If he didn’t hear from us, it meant he was doing fine, and he should continue doing what we asked him to do. If the construction manager needed some direction, he came to us and asked a clarifying question, but we didn’t micro manage the project.
God’s assignment and our plans have similar partnership. We know what God has spoken, so we move forward with what we know. Sometimes He speaks specifically and sometimes generally, so we go to work planning our lives and activities based on what we know is true and right in His sight and according to the word of God. In situations or places where we are not sure, we ask the Lord clarifying questions to make sure we remain on the right path.
As a believer, our goals are not to be set in stone. We remain open to God’s leading and changing our direction if/when He chooses to do so. However, in the absence of hearing his voice, we move forward with the plans we have made staying flexible and attentive to His voice for any change of direction.
Do you have goals for your life? If so, do you remain flexible and persevering in the process of achieving them? If you don’t set goals, is fear holding you back?
Our culture deems goal setting crucial to one’s success! Goals are a highly valued commodity; books, commercials, and highly admired people encourage the masses to set some goals in order to achieve success. People believe that if you want to make progress and reach your desired destination, you must have goals. The voice of our culture implies that people who don’t set goals never reach anything, which leads one to be a loser in life!
Conversely, in some Christian circles, goal setting is synonymous to carnality and man striving to be in control. Some Christians believe that it is up to God to do all the work, and they are just supposed to go along for the ride! The individuals feel that as long as they pray, God will move and direct their path. They are not in charge of their lives because they have surrendered it all to God.
There is truth to both sides of the argument, but finding true balance between the two extreme views is the wisdom provided by God through His word.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. Proverb 21:5
We all need to make some plans in life. When we are young, we need to plan to get an education and develop a career in life. As we get older and have a consistent job, we need to set goals for our finances by saving and putting money aside for our retirement. If we plan to purchase a house, we need to save some money for a down payment.
Lack of planning and goal setting can lead us into a big pitfall by making hasty decisions. For example, if we just hastily jump into the decision of purchasing a house that we really can’t afford, it can lead us into bondage or into an eventual foreclosure. This can unleash years of emotional, financial, and relational problems. There are a whole host of other situations that require a level of planning in order for us to be successful and avoid major problems in life.
Does our goal setting look different than the world? How does a believer set goals in a Godly way? This is the subject of the next devotional.
The Kingdom of God is so important that when Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He chose to pray about it first in what is known as the Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus could have asked about many different things, but He chose to ask for the Kingdom of God first. Jesus began by honoring God’s name, and then he asked for the Kingdom of God to come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (verse 10).
Jesus’ first request reveals His priority. He desired to see the Kingdom of God to be manifested on earth. When you think about your most frequent prayers, what do you pray about first? I find that my prayers can quickly turn into a request for myself, a loved one, or someone in need. However, Jesus’ prayer was about His kingdom coming to the earth.
In the above prayer, Jesus connected the will of God to the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God will come to earth when the will of God is done. Jesus was the forerunner in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth and doing His will. He chose to live His life perfectly and become obedient to the cross. He set an example for all believers on how to pull heaven to earth and live a life that represents a different Kingdom. His resolve was never dependent on His popularity. He chose to stand on truth and die for for truth. He continued to love those who hated Him and forgave them on the cross. We are citizens of this awesome Kingdom that He established!
Isn’t it amazing that our obedience doesn’t just benefit us!? Just as Jesus’ obedience to God opened the door for us to become citizens of this Kingdom, our obedience does the same thing for others. When we walk in obedience to God, it reveals the Kingdom of God and makes it become visible to those who are hopeless and helpless in life! We are the conduits who stand between heaven and earth and allow the Kingdom of God and the desire of God to be manifested on the earth.
Are you ready for the challenge? You could be the answer to someone’s prayer! Are you willing to pray as Jesus prayed and be part of the answer to bring the Kingdom of God and the will of God on the earth? Can we be the ones who change the atmosphere because we are operating under a different Kingdom!?
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, Ephesians 2:19
When I was Growing up in Iran under a dictatorship, the government of U.S. looked very powerful, free, and out of reach to most of us. As a 15 year old, when I walked in the U.S Embassy in Switzerland to apply for a student visa, I was in awe. In the natural, the office didn’t look spectacular, but because it was representing the United States of America, it looked so majestic and powerful!
During that trip, I was granted a student visa to come to the U.S. I knew this was a great privilege because most Iranians would not have this kind of opportunity to come to such a great nation. I left everyone and everything I loved, in order to join this great kingdom. When I was finally granted U.S citizenship years later, it was even a greater privilege. I was no longer a stranger or a foreigner in this nation but a fellow citizen with millions of other Americans.
Becoming a citizen of the kingdom of God has even greater honor, and it has eternal privileges for those who are part of it. When we accept Jesus and His work on the cross, it gives us the opportunity to enter His Kingdom. The good news is that this citizenship is available to whosoever believes!
The amazing part of being granted U.S. citizenship was that I inherited every privilege that others had worked for, fought for, and died for! In the same way, Jesus did the all the work to buy us freedom and citizenship of the Kingdom of God. We get to inherit all these privileges without having to work for them. However, while these privileges are freely given to us, they came at a high cost to Him who fought for us.
The Kingdom of heaven gives us true freedom that no earthly government is designed to give us. Do you value being a citizen of the Kingdom of God? Do you know the privileges you are given as citizens of this free government?
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
When God created the heavens and the earth, the Kingdom of God was in ruling power until the Fall of Adam & Eve. When they sinned, they gave the legal permission for the devil to begin ruling on the earth and sin permeated every aspect of creation including humanity. The regime of bondage and darkness began to govern the earth. However, God had a plan through Jesus to take back His Kingdom!
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
Fighting for freedom is a battle both at the natural level and at the spiritual level. Naturally, those who control people with rules and regulations don’t want to lose territory. Those who run a dictatorship expect no interference with their opinion from those who disagree with them.
Spiritually, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t want to lose control of people and their allegiance to the established rules and regulations. The kingdom of heaven came against direct opposition of the kingdom of darkness. There was great forcefulness from those who opposed the truth preached by Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus exerted his force and authority by remaining perfect and not backing down on his teachings and his principles.
The confrontation of power came down to Jesus dying on the cross and conquering the dictatorship of Satan. He was able to regain the territory lost to the devil due to the Fall. This was a spiritual transaction that took place in the heavenly realm.
When we accept Jesus and his work on the cross, it gives us the opportunity to enter His Kingdom and forsake the kingdom of darkness. Jesus came to set people free from oppression and bring liberty to the captives. We don’t need to live in fear nor are we indebted to the kingdom of the devil any longer. The battle is won, and we are citizens of the heavenly Kingdom. What an extraordinary privilege to become citizens of this new kingdom!
The principles of the kingdom of God are opposite of the natural world. Jesus didn’t fight His battles like an ordinary ruler does. Nations and religions are guilty of fighting others by brute force and bloodshed, but Jesus came to show us a different way to live and fight.
In the next devotional, I will share about significance of the Kingdom of God!
Our freedom was purchased through the love of Christ by giving up His life for our sake. It cost Him everything in order to set us free from the bondage and grip of sin and put us on the path of a loving relationship with God. He set us free for a great purpose!
What is the purpose of this freedom that Christ purchased for us?
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Light of the world: Jesus called us to be the light of the world. In our past un-regenerated state, we walked in darkness. Now that Jesus has set us free, we are born into the Kingdom of light, and we get to be light! God can use us as a flicker of light for those who are looking for a ray of hope in their dark world. When people around us act foolishly or selfishly, we can be the one with a pure heart reaching out to others. We can participate in the work of Kingdom by brightening someone’s world. Praise God!
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44
Loving our enemies: Jesus set us free to love the unlovable. This is not something that our carnal nature is capable of doing. It only comes by the grace of God. Love is the greatest transformer!
If you have ever felt unloved or rejected, you know how lonely it feels. It’s a great blessing when God chooses to send someone along our side to love us in-spite of how we feel about ourselves! In turn, He chooses to use us to touch that one person in the same way that He chose to use others in our lives.
Who are you called to love? Who is waiting for your love to give them hope for change? We can intersect people’s lives and help them come out of the rejection cycle! This can motivate and inspire them to trust God and try again!
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, Isaiah 61:1
Setting captives free: Jesus set us free to set other captives free. Sometimes people who are in bondage are not even aware that they are imprisoned by their own passions, addictions, and opinions. Bondage seems familiar and normal to them. When we come alongside of these individuals, they can see us free in areas that they are held captive. This opens the opportunity for them to ask questions about how the issues of life don’t affect us as it impacts them.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21
Developing Healthy relationships: We now can develop healthy relationships. The more secure we become in our relationship with the Lord, the less need to control or be controlled by others. We are able to accept others and their limitations and not allow them to become the focus of our happiness and peace.
While God uses people in our lives to bless us from time to time, people are not the answer to our happiness and success. When our desire is to honor and love others and not seek to be right, there will be less room for friction and strife. This impacts our marriages, raising our children, our friendships, and all our others relationships.
Is there anything/anyone hindering your freedom? Are you exercising the privilege of your freedom for God’s purposes?
