Okay, I know that’s grammatically wrong but it just seemed to fit. Anyhoo,
awhile back, I was given an assignment to choose from a list of Biblical
characters and pick the one I could best relate to. After
studying the lives of several men from the Old Testament, the one I relate to
most is Samson. He is known for his great strength and failure to obey God. I
relate to Samson, not in his strength, but in his rebellious nature. For many
years I sought earthly pleasure; although I knew God had a purpose and plan for
my life, I felt like I needed to establish myself before I could settle down
and be what He wanted me to be. Like Samson, I wandered far from home and God.
At eighteen, I joined the Marines and after completing basic training and
Infantry school, I was sent to the Philippines. I got
involved with drinking and riotous living.
I always found excuses for my bad behavior but deep down inside, I knew I was
living in sin and getting further away from God. During my fourteen months
there, the only time I went to church was when things were really bad. I
remember thinking about my childhood and going to church and I missed that. The
problem was, I had gotten so deep in sin I could no longer give it up and walk
away; it had become a way of life. Besides, what would my friends say?
The book of Judges tells us how Samson wandered away from God, eventually
giving in to Delilah’s nagging by telling her the secret about his hair. She
promptly had it cut and he was defenseless; God’s Spirit was no longer upon
him. In his book, Courageous Faith, Life
Lessons from Old Testament Heroes, Ed Hindson says: “Samson failed to deal
with temptation and paid a terrible price for it. The Bible reminds us that
with every temptation, God provides a ‘way of escape’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). But we have to be
willing to take it.”[1] Fortunately the story does not end there.
“Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray!
Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take
vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” (Judges 16:28) Samson paid with his
life but praise God I did not. He gave me another chance and has chosen to use
me. My prayer is that I never stray again.
[1] Ed Hindson. Courageous
Faith: Life Lessons From Old Testament Heroes. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers
I am like Jonah. God gave me explicit directions on where he was sending me, and I disobeyed and went my own way instead. It took a long, long, long time for me to turn myself around and to admit to God that I was wrong. The good news is that God is so very patient with us, even when we sin, and even when we turn away from him. He never gives up and He never lets go of us. I am living testimony that God will keep His promises. I am living out a calling that I received when I was 16. I accepted it, and then I rejected it. I never thought that God would call me again, but He did, and now I am back on track almost 35 years later. God is good, really good.
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