In Judges 16:20, you will find one of the saddest and most haunting verses in the Bible. Samson had been set apart for service to Yahweh and His people from conception. He was to be a Nazirite. Nazirite lived under a vow to God (temporary or permanent) that was symbolized by uncut hair, abstention from wine, and never to eat anything Yahweh said was unclean. Samson’s strength was NOT in the length of his hair. It was in the vow to Yahweh that his hair symbolized. But when he revealed this to Delilah and she cut his hair, the scriptures say that he awoke and said, “I will escape as I did before.” And then comes the woeful commentary. “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” When he betrayed his covenant vow to God, he forfeited the power and the Spirit of Yahweh. Many are like Samson --- shallow faith, worldly appetites, skills, and abilities that lean toward self-sufficiency. BUT, if we are not making and taking the time to cultivate an abiding relationship with God the Father, we too can begin to “go through the motions” while lacking power, conviction, and evidence of a Spirit-filled life. Do not get so comfortable with OR caught in pursuing the things of the world that you crowd the presence of God out of your life.
Jesus said, in John 15:5-8, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This glorifies my Father, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
