Tuesday, November 16, 2010

what He says means alot...




Proverbs 16:7

it never jumped out to me before but these words say alot: "When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them." & so while on my lunch break i was looking for something else and stumbled upon this. it personally made me giggle & smile on the inside. i start to think to myself: whatever could this mean..for anyone?

im thinking about the story of Samson & Delilah (Judges 13-16). if you've never read it..it's a must read and a whole other entry in & of itself! but the piece i connect to Proverbs 16:7 is that Samson had many enemies since we learned of his birth. but an angel came to Samson's mother and gave her promises about what Samson was going to do as a man according to God's will. Regardless of the the drama that Samson would go through, he was given a mission.

and when i look at the first part i wonder: at what point is it that God took pleasure in Samson's life? Samson was quite arrogant. Then he fell in love with a whore & lost everything. But then Judges 16:28 happened. Then Judges 16:29-30 happened. Samson admitted that he could not have his strength without God and ultimately fulfilled his mission but not without experiencing death.

it brought me back to the reality of some people's lives i know. how my <3 cries for the misguided...much how Samson allowed his desires to misguide him. but the amazing-ness of it is that there's pleasure to be found in the downturn that Samson had...the pleasure was his death.

Samson's death is much like Jesus's death on our behalf. A request. An invitation to a new life by allowing ourselves to be dead to our own desires. FINALLY Samson got the message and defeated his enemies just as God has intended for him to do.

reading Samson's story may appear like a sad one..he did die...but its evident that God's Word & words have sincerity & meaning. His messages for us are to lead us in the right direction and not the direction of death that we, mindlessly, define as life.

Samson's story continues to be one of my favorites. it's a constand reminder about love, self love, God's love & the pursuit of life and our dreams. i didn't think i'd get that from a small & short Scripture i just stumbled over today.

thought: learn from Samsom & avoid making similar mistakes but reminded that God's pleasure is the primary. those in opposition to God's plan for you will make many Delilah like moves...be careful.

<3 b