Day 82: Judg 13:1 - 16:30

The story of Samson is the classic story of what happens when people forget where the blessing is coming from. The book of Judges is such an interesting book because it really doesn't discuss the moral values of any of the Judges, it simply tells the facts. It's hard to say that Samson wasted all that God had given him because we clearly see what God did through him with the hundreds of Philistines prior to him falling into Delilah's trap, but I'm sure there was alot more that he could've done. The place where he went wrong was when he starting thinking that he was invincible and that he was a "self-made" man. I've known alot of people in the ministry who thought that they had climbed the ladder and made themselves a success when God was really the one who had made it happen. As soon as we start thinking that it was all our own personal success, Gad takes a step back and lets us see just how successful we are on our own, and that's never a good thing. 

- Lord, help me to never be as arrogant as Samson became. I know that you have blessed me with certain gifts and talents, but I know that the moment I start trusting in the gifts more than the one who gave them to me, I will crash and burn just like Samson and just like all of the others who took matters into their own hands. -