May 2

Judges 16:20 

"He awoke from his sleep and thought "I'll go out as before and shake myself free". But he didn't know that the Lord had left him."

Samson was extremely strong.  No one would deny that.  Not even him.  He had total confidence in his own ability to defeat any fierce animal and break loose from any chain that held him down. How much are we like Samson?  Is our confidence in our own abilities or strengths?  As I was reading through the book of Judges I realized that each Judge had might and power only once the Spirit of Lord came upon them. Without the Spirit of the Lord we are helpless. This is illustrated when Samson was defeated when being seized by the Philistines once the Spirit left him.  We see this important concept of our dependence on God's Spirit for our strength throughout the Bible. David pleaded with the Lord that He not take His Holy Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11) Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah that "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him"  (11:2) And later when Jesus preached in the Temple He quoted from Scripture that "the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord was with Him." (Luke 4:18) Lord forgive us for all the times we think that power and strength is ours and we attempt to accomplish tasks on our own.  I pray that the Spirit of the Lord rest upon us, equipping us, guiding us, and edifying us, to be strong disciples. I pray we never think we can do anything in our own strength or power and we continually look to God praising His holy name while we work to advance His Kingdom.

Randi