The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” Judges 16:5 NIV
After sharing three very wrong answers with her…
“Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”” Judges 16:15 NIV
In spite of his love for her, she had evil motives in discovering his secret and he’d provided himself with three opportunities to realize this.
Is love blind?
Her shaming and manipulation eventually brought down Samson, stealing the true secret of his strength and eventually his own life.
Love is blind. Or at the very least, it can too easily weaken our resolve.
I realize this may be the simplest takeaway of many we can derive from their story, but because of his arrogance and ignorance, it consequently turned deadly.
Samson was captured and had his eyes gouged out by the Philistines, which both ironically and symbolically illustrates my point so poignantly.
This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty—: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6 NIV
If we are exceptionally good at anything, it’s creating gods for ourselves.
People elevating things to a status or place of worship is commonplace in the Bible and is a primary offense to God.
Often unintentionally, drugs, drinking, eating, sex, and a host of other vices become the gods we worship, obey, and choose to spend the most time with.
But our God is a jealous God.
To watch you make a conscious choice directing your affections elsewhere breaks his heart and violates his intentions.
People were made for worship. It’s embedded in our personal constitution.
We were created to worship our creator, of whom, despite our circuitous attempts, there is no substitute.
I, you, we, are owned.
That makes God’s jealousy make perfect sense.
He wants you. He fights for you. He gave his only son as a sacrifice for you.
Let go of things you try to constitute as god and come back to your creator, the real thing.
Unlike most others, I find few things ‘amazing’ in daily life.
‘Great,’ ‘unexpected,’ ‘surprising’ even, but rarely ‘amazing.’
I’d always learned that truly amazing experiences are reserved for the unexplainable, logic-defying, fortuitous things that they are and always will be.
A huge turnout at your party, a tasty lemon chicken, or a flurry of friendly visits when you’re sick in bed just doesn’t meet criteria. Furthermore, ‘amazeballs’ isn’t a word. Don’t even go there.
On a final note, if something is indeed truly amazing, tell the world.
We all desperately need inspiration by something genuinely wondrous, mysterious and magical these days.
“He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”” Isaiah 44:14-17 NIV
To his credit, this man seeks an experience with God but fails to identify with Him apart from the experience which God provided for his care and comfort.
God is spirit, not the sum of our experiences.
He is impossible to create from our physical world despite our longing for a physical representation of Him.
Whether it’s a pendant on a chain around our neck or a statue in the yard, God’s power doesn’t emanate from things of his creation.
His spirit and power is held intangibly only within our hearts and minds.
A piece of wood. A pendant. A statue. All are idols when we seek to imbue them with a spirit or power beyond that for which they were created.
All praise be to the spirit of God who is above all things.
On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” Joshua 10:12-14 NIV
The extended daylight allowed the Israelites a decisive victory over the Amorites and underscored Joshua’s unique relationship with God as an undefeatable ally of Israel.
Not every winning strategy is initiated by God. He allows and welcomes the initiative and wisdom of his people to carry out his will.
All too often we put off decisions in wait to hear from God when he clearly has already equipped us to think and decide prayerfully for ourselves.
Hasty decisions are often those stuck in and overwhelmed with emotions. But if you can reason to a good decision or conclusion, you should. There’s little sense to be made for further delay.
And leave some wiggle room for an unexpected miracle or two provided by God as a reward for your wisdom, boldness and confidence.
Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”” Joshua 3:5 NIV
Crossing the Jordan River to claim the land promised by God was as much an anticipated turning point for the Israelites as was their exodus from Egyptian slavery.
They were preceded by Levites carrying the ark of the Lord which was a miracle itself as its weight was crazy heavy.
They were ready. Communities ahead were nothing short of petrified, and the revered ark of the covenant was advancing ahead of their victories.
The long awaited moment had arrived.
There’s something powerful to be said for having a plan sanctioned by God with assured victory in your path.
For some, the new year symbolizes manifestations of new goals and big changes. Cheers to them.
Cheers also to those who have faithfully and successfully executed bite-sized plans all year long and enjoy the equally divine results of a disciplined life.
Whatever gets you to your promised land best, may the Lord bless your journey and give 2026 victoriously over and into your hands.
A fresh beginning to a new year, a clean page on life’s calendar, a symbolic start to better intentions, clarity in focus, or maybe nothing more than a simple sentimental morning to contemplate the parade of your life thus far.
I hope you will use the day off work with a little extra time to clear slates and imagine how the new year might unfold for you.
Others will wake desperate for aspirin and coffee, football distractions or to clean up wild night messes before sleeping away the day’s remains from which they only recently arrived home.
I suspect more than a sober few will be thinking deeper thoughts throughout the day. Plans for self-restraint, how to be a little nicer, quit a bad habit, or start one better.
For curious and contemplative minds the options are limitless.
So, applause to those making use of this new day as a personal prompt for positive change, at least in thought, if not in deed. It’s a good day for it.
Some require an external catalyst, a nodal event, or an arbitrary date of a year to propel them into deeper thoughts and richer inner lives.
Shocked or startled, they may shake to their cores, begging for change, repeating that awful truth that once again, they waited for something to force their hand.
Regardless, there is a glorious redemption that the only difference between last year’s regrets and this year’s successes is just another day, like today, and how we will use it.
Me? Bonelessly.
It took all of 65 new years, but I can finally say I’ve no known skeletons left in my closet.
At my peak, I held more dirty little secrets than a poker table at midnight.
Some were revealed by God, some by others without my consent, but the rest have since been made known to the world through working the steps of my recovery program.
Most are captured in stories on my website LifeMeansSoMuch.com, showcased as subject matter to illustrate the redeeming power of God’s love.
Before a recent recovery meeting, a friend and I discussed the power of personal testimony and in the process, revealed many personal misgivings of our own sordid pasts, vowing to write our own detailed respective recovery testimonies in hopes of sharing them with others some day.
Particular dreams and driving destinations can still rattle my cage with memories of my unholy times but despite how painful the memories can be, none are hidden.
Boneless. No skeletons in my closets.
A clear conscience is a severely underestimated blessing that can free you from the chains of shame and regret.
What’s still in your closet that God doesn’t already forgive?
Nothing.
The highest and best use to start my new year is with a fresh inventory of what skeletons I risk dragging in from the old into the new.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NIV
Some scholars count a total of 613 Old Testament commandments in the Bible.
While most have been commuted or replaced in the New Testament with the death and resurrection of Jesus, those that remain age timelessly.
Fear and discouragement are emotions dealt to all of us and are notorious faith killers: intentional monkey wrenches delivered by the enemy.
Confidence and conviction that our Lord is always with us through every circumstance is a sufficient solution to the emotions of fear and discouragement.
Not a suggested remedy but a commanded one.
Whether it’s a February, October, or the entrance to a new year, the unknown is always upon us.
An intentional, deliberate, and ever deepening journey into faith and following God equips us for each encounter of the unknown with a strength and courage we can’t summon by ourselves but only through a vital, living relationship with God.
So once again, connection to and with our creator is essential for getting through and past every circumstance.
Ring in the new year with confidence in this commandment recorded in Joshua, and empowering your future and all its unknowns.
