My wife and I spent the first few years of our marriage learning how to communicate. While we had dated for almost 3 years prior, life 24/7 is different. I believed I didn’t have to verbalize every emotion that I felt because even if something upset me, it’s likely not a big deal and not worth mentioning. “It’ll probably not even be a thing in a couple days”, I’d tell myself.
My wife didn’t have the same philosophy.
But both are right. Right? We need a little bit of letting go of things & a little bit of sharing, expressing, and talking through to make marriage work.
I’ve known a few people over the years who are simply driven by their emotions. The path between thought, feeling, and action is incredibly short. And often, these individuals slowly but surely push friends out of their lives and are left either 1) wondering why no one cares about them, or 2) blaming everyone else for why life is the way that it is.
A life caught in the sin cycle of pornography, sex, and lust is much the same way. Slowly but surely, you push everything else to the side and are then left wondering where all that talk of Abundant Life went?? Or mad at God for failing to ‘deliver’ as you thought He should.
For Samson, life had to hit rock bottom before he got it.
In Judges 16 we find the last phase of Samson’s life. Samson behaves foolishly with the latest woman of his life, Delilah. She seduces and takes advantage of him and ultimately, he betrays HIMSELF by sharing with her the secret to the power God had given him. He is taken captive by the Philistines and feels lost, alone, and forgotten.
But THERE . . .
ROCK BOTTOM . . .
With his eyes gouged out & at his lowest point, He truly
SEES.
Here’s what I want you to learn from all this. Samson lived a life out of emotion. Saw, desired, took. Over and over again.
That’s not what God intends for us.
That’s not what God intends for you.
God is faithful, merciful, kind, and patient so will bless you despite your sins. But eventually, enough is enough and at some point, we must be man enough to break out of the cycle and start acting with more maturity.
Notice verse 22.
Notice verse 28.
Samson had lost his power.
Samson felt forgotten.
But God . . . there’s those two words again . . . began answering Samson’s prayer before he even prayed it.
No matter how far you’ve fallen. No matter how many times you’ve looked at porn. No matter how many times your mind has wandered to a place of sexual fantasy. No matter how many times you’ve masturbated to a video of sexual filth, know that God is still with you.
You might feel forgotten, but His presence is still there and He has already begun strengthening you again.
Thoughts to Journal/Pray:
- In what ways can you identify with the life of Samson?
- What lessons can you learn from him? From his mistakes? From his victories?
- What are some things you can start doing RIGHT NOW to get you back on track toward ALL that God has for you?
Reading: