It’s okay not to be okay

Judges 14; Jeremiah 27; Mark 13; Acts 18

God-appointed leaders are not always the wisest owls in the woods. Judges 14 describes some of Sampson’s antics (he was an Old Testament judge) and proves this NT passage:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:26–29)

This is a humbling comfort for a couple of reasons. The obvious is that it applies to me. God isn’t interested in the worldly standards that I was raised with. He cares nothing for high IQ’s, rank, prestige, human power, or anything else that I might accomplish or achieve. He picks those who have nothing to boast about, the weak and even those despised by their society. If I want fame and popularity, being a Christian is not the route to take.

Sampson did some silly things. He married outside the faith of his family and against the commands of God. He devised a riddle during his wedding celebrations with a wager and lost it because Philistine the wedding guests threatened his wife with death if she didn’t worm the answer out of him. She wept and whined until he told her, and then he attacked several Philistines to obtain what he needed to pay off his debt. He refused to go back to this wife and she was given to another man.

I can think of a few silly things in my past too. While I’d like to think that God chose me because of my better accomplishments, His Word says otherwise. His choices are not based on anything that I might be proud of but could be on the stuff that makes me blush. This is humbling.

The other reason this story and the NT word about God’s reasoning are comforting is that they explain a lot of what is happening in our world. We have leaders in many countries who think that Christians are the enemy. They overlook the good that is done, schools started, care given and so on and instead persecute God’s people and put many to death. Their view of what is valuable to their nation seems warped to me and in a very real way, the weak and foolish who are chosen by God are a mockery to this so-called wisdom of the world. God used a silly man like Sampson to defeat the enemies of His people. He also can use the weak people who are willing to die for their faith to heap judgment on today’s enemies, even those that seem to do things that please most of the population.

I realize this is a statement hard to understand. For me, it is about God’s value system, not mine and certainly not what the world seems to value. To God, human power and reasoning is full of sin and selfishness. Politicians lie to cover their mistakes, make outrageous claims about their power, and look down their noses at the people God has chosen for His children. In contrast, the people of God whose faith is strong will tell the truth even if it means death, are blessed with God’s strength in our weaknesses, and pray for those who have rejected the One who created them. I am humbled that God has put me into His family, that He did not leave me in that value system where I thought I was somebody when I am not.

In the end of the story, Sampson gave his life to do what God chose him to do. Others have been like him, weak in many areas yet used by God to do mighty things. As my devotional book says, Spirit-given power in one dimension of life does not by itself guarantee Spirit-impelled discipline and maturity in every dimension of life. And this is a humbling reality.

APPLY: Jesus is the vine, my source of all good things. In myself, I can do nothing and am nothing. God’s ways are not my ways yet even in this I can see His wisdom. Pride ruins people. He knows what I need to be humbly aware of my need to rely on Him and abide in Him. I must be glad that He chose me for His reasons and not for any from my old value system.

 

Does God cast the deciding vote?

Judges 13; Jeremiah 26; Mark 12; Acts 17

Sometimes I’ve made choices and later asked myself, “What was I thinking?” Clothes that make me look wider, friends that continually lied to me, vehicles that were always needing repairs, and the list goes on. It happens with elections too. People vote for what seemed a good choice but that person turned out the opposite of what was expected.

Judges 13 describes the beginning of Sampson’s role in Israel. He was not voted in by a democratic election but sent by God to deliver His people from forty years of domination by the Philistines. Their name comes from a root word meaning rolling or wallowing in the dust or rolling in the sense of migratory. I get an image of people who are not stable in their residence or lifestyle. Under their thumbs, Israel worshiped their idols and were victims of their way of life.

Sampson was an odd choice. He married one of the enemy’s women but her father gave her to someone else. He played silly games with these people who were his enemies, defeated them on several occasions but they murdered his wife and her father. He chased a couple other women, was trapped by one of them who tricked him, wound up in the hands of the Philistines who mocked him. As that was happening, he pulled down the building they were in and he died as he killed a few thousand of their leaders and their wives. Sampson judged Israel for twenty years and had I been one of God’s people at that time, I would have wondered why God picked him.

But God was in this. Though Samson’s parents objected to his marrying a Philistine woman, they allowed Samson’s wishes to prevail. “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines . . . .” (Judges 14:4) This does not mean that breaking the Law was desired by God but that Samson’s decision was overruled by God for His own purpose and glory.

Is that happening today? Are we victims of our choices and an ungodly way of life? Is God at work using leaders voted in by a fickle population that have soon become critical of them? While voters express dissatisfaction with their choices, are we missing the idea that God had reasons for putting these leaders in their roles? This is not to say they are superior leaders but that God can use even foolish decisions for His purposes. He sets them up, even those we wonder about. Daniel knew this was the case. He said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:20–21)

Jesus also said to those who arrested Him: “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above . . . .” (John 19:11) Even though we vote, God’s sovereignty plays a major role in the outcome.

That said, instead of saying “What was I thinking?” I’ve been asking, “God, what are you thinking?” What is it about these leaders that God wants to use in the lives of His people? In my life?

His priority must be trust; the Lord desires that I trust Him, His wisdom and might. Even though many people seem oblivious to what they or others are doing, and certainly what God is doing, the Lord knows what He is up to and I know that He is never wrong or deceitful. There was purpose in allowing Sampson’s foolish choices and there is purpose in what God has done since then and is doing now.

APPLY: I have prayed for many things and realize that if God is not answering my prayers, then He has a better plan. He can be trusted. He will reveal that plan to me if I need to see it. Otherwise, I can live without fear and let Him take care of the actions taken by leaders who seem silly to me — but what do I know? God can act through the selfishness of Sampson; He can still do the same in anyone who He sets up as a leader. My role for now is to let His peace rule in my heart!