“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer 2:13).
God’s will can only be done in His own strength. If Satan can deceive us into looking to ourselves for strength to do God’s will, then he has us exactly where he wants us. The Bible says”He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” (Prov 28:26). To trust in yourself is to rely on your own understanding and resources, as the basis of your choices, without recourse to God. Jeremiah 17:5 describes it as, “… the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.” Once you put your trust in man and make flesh your strength, your heart has departed from God. Remember, your heart (which is your real self) is what God looks at (1Sam 16:7).
The Bible calls a person who trusts in himself or herself a fool. In God’s opinion, we play the fool whenever we ignore or neglect His offer of help, and choose, instead, to rely on ourselves for strength and direction in the affairs of life. On the other hand, the Bible says, “…he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” (Prov 28:26). This implies that anyone who wholeheartedly seeks God for help, and receives it, is wise in His sight. Anyone who depends on the arm of flesh will, sooner or later, fall flat on his face. All too often we fail to realise how hopelessly inadequate our human resources are, without God’s help.
The Bible’s account of Samson’s rise and fall is a good illustration of this subject. God’s proclamation of the call on Samson’s life as a deliverer for Israel, and the requirements for its fulfillment were unmistakable, and predated his conception. “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”” (Judges 13:3-5).
Like Samson, everyone of us has been called to serve God in some way. And, as in his case, our successful completion of our God-given assignment will require that we know and adhere to God’s principles of doing His work, which is that it is, “… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” (Zec 4:6). Paul the Apostle alluded to the same thing when he questioned the Galatians: “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal 3:3). God’s work begins in the Spirit and is carried on in the same way. The way in, therefore, is the way forward.
The Holy spirit was behind Samson’s ability to perform the extraordinary feats he performed among the Philistines. “And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” (Judges 13:25). However, Samson soon forgot that it was not his natural strength that enabled him to do the incredible things he did and to win the succession of victories he had won over Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. The result was that he began to yield to his inordinate cravings and to live recklessly. This is sadly the case when one attempts, consciously or unconsciously, to replace God in his or her life. It was indeed a sad day when Samson, at the threat of his enemies, woke up and said: “I WILL GO OUT AS BEFORE, AT OTHER TIMES, AND SHAKE MYSELF FREE!”… only to discover that, “…THE LORD HAD DEPARTED FROM HIM.” (Judges 16:20) (emphasis mine). “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1Cor 10:12). Shalom.
