Harsh Reminders

And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and 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)

Last week I had a medical procedure and needed to lay low for about 24 hours. What I didn't anticipate is that 24 hours would turn into 96. I would love to say that I needed all that time to recovery but the reality is, I just simply gave myself a new reason everyday to eat that extra treat or workout less than I should. After several days of this slump, I noticed something, my ignoring God's call for me to be disciplined in this area of my life was not only affecting how I was feeling physically but it started to tamper with my emotions, my mental state and worse my spiritual vitality. Was I slowly headed down the Samson track? I think so.

If you recall (or not) the story of Samson, God blessed this Nazirite from birth with an incredible strength and the command to him was to never cut his hair. When Samson became an adult he fell for a Philistine beauty named Delilah who's goal was to find out his secret so that her people could capture him. Well, eventually sleeping with the enemy wore him down, he revealed his secret to Delilah, she shaved his head and the rest is history. (For the whole story ready Judges 13-16, some pretty riveting reading)

Last week was a harsh reminder of how disobedience and giving into my selfish yearnings can collapse what God is desiring to build in me. Like Samson, I too have my Delilah, she's the symptom to my root problem. I was sharply reminded that I have to be ever vigilant in my pursuit of healthy living. Up until 5 months ago I had lived a pretty sedentary life and 5 months can be washed away in an instant if my Delilah becomes wise to my achilles heal.

It's moments like these that I am so thankful for the Spirit of God that lives me and leads me into all truth. The truth that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that I am more that a conquer because of His great love for me. My journey is not a journey of sheer will but a journey of deep faith and to avoid my Delilah's trampings, I must choose -daily- to trust the power of God to heal the areas of my life and heart that can be so easily enticed to fail.

Harsh reminder...point taken!!!