God’s Goodness

Written by FAVORED1 on July 15, 2009 – 8:31 am -

Wednesday, July 14, 2009

The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace

[Psalm 29:11]

Good Morning Beloved,

Ever received a blessing so fabulous it makes you nervous? As much as we know and have experienced the goodness of God, sometimes we can think, “what did I do to merit this?”. Well, the Bible does tell us that the goodness of God leads one to repentance (Romans 2:4), and Matthew does remind us how well God takes care of the sparrows, and the lillies and of the fields and that we are worth more than they are. Not one single thing escapes His attention. I was just thinking about Sampson. Most people know his story. We’re familiar with his strength, his hair, his addiction to women, his donkey’s jawbone weapon, and the most expensive hair cut in history. Not only was Delilah paid very well for her services by the leaders, but Sampson sold his power, his strength, his anointing, his position, his dignity, and in the end he received nothing but death… that was one expensive hair cut. Most of us know the story, but what sticks out in my mind is how many chances God gave Sampson. Even to the very end God never left him. He was waiting for Sampson to come to his senses. Wonder how the story would have ended if instead of asking God to let him die with the Philistines, he had asked God to forgive him and deliver him from his enemies. Every step along his journey there were roadblocks, signs, walls all around him trying to keep him out of trouble. His parents tried to reason with him about his choice for a wife… he pushed through that. He knew the laws governing the Nazerites… he pushed through them. His first wife betrayed him out of fear for the safety of herself and her father… and then there was Delilah. Every step of disobedience hardened his heart, and made him even more susceptible to the next act until he was in full fledged rebellion. He began to act as though he were master of his strength, instead of realizing that his great strength was given to him by God for Gods’ purposes. Playing with sin and dancing around the edge of the cliff rebellion, he finally fell in… head first… into the lap of deception. His is one of the saddest life events in the Bible. So much potential… wasted. God protected His people from their adversaries, and the imminent threat to them was vanquished for a season… but Sampson died. His life serves as a warning to us of the dangers of “playing with fire”, but it also tells us something else… God loves us and we will never find ourselves in a situation where there is no way out. Take the exit!

… and THAT Beloved is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina