God has assigned a particular task for each and everyone of us. Whether you are a pastor, servant, parent, leader, wife, husband, you have been given an assignment that needs to be accomplished .
In every area of life, be it religion, political, social, relationship, career, whether rich or poor, small or great erc.
We are called to do a task and in order to be able to perform our task effectively, God has given us Strength
Our strength is the secret weapon or tool that God has given us to accomplish our task here on earth.
Leaders have the strength to lead others, singers have the strength to sing, pastors have the strength to preach and prophesy, while servants have also been given the strength to serve etc.
Apostle Paul said,
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength". Phil 4:13
He knew that with the strength given to him from above, he can do anything.
We can accomplish great things for God as an online church if we can discover this inner strength that God has given us.
God has given us unlimited strength which we can use to overcome every task that has been assigned to us.
Paul was able to say that he has finished the race and won the fight because he used that strength which was given to him from above.
Beloved, there is a race ahead of us to finish and a fight for us to win and we need the strength from above to do that.
I therefore urge you to stop working on your weaknesses and start working on your strength.
Satan targets our strengths not our weaknesses because he knows that is what we can us to fight.
Nobody fights with his or her weaknesses because you will lose when you do that.
Even though he cannot take away our strength, he can limit it's potency in our life if we do not protect it.
Satan is envious of that unique strength in us and he always finds ways and means to render it powerless using every resource at his disposal.
Finally, Samson shared his secret with her, My hair has never been cut. He confessed, for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head is shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.
Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. Come back one more time, she said for he has finally told me his secret. So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands.
Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.
Then she cried out, Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you. When he woke up, he thought I will do as before and shake myself free. But he didn't realize the Lord had left him.
So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.
But before long, his hair began to grow back.
Judges 16:4-22
The rulers of Philistine knew how powerful Samson was and they knew that they can only destroy Samson if only he losses his strength.
So they found ways and means to neutralize his strength to their advantage. They therefore did not look further than what Samson loved.
The most dangerous weakness in a man's life is the thing he loves.
Loving somebody or something exposes our weaknesses to that person or thing. If you love money, you can easily do evil to get it and no wonder the scriptures say the love of money is the root of all evil. If you love your life,Jesus said you will lose it and yes people end up losing their lives as a result of finding every means possible to protect it.
Samson loved Delilah and she deceived him into revealing the secret of his strength to her.
Delilah was a deceitful woman with honey on her lips and poison in her heart.
She toyed Samson, pretending to love him while looking for her personal gain.
Be careful of the things and those you choose to love, because whatever you love, you put your trust into it.
Samson did not value his God given strength and so failed to gaurd it for a greater good.
AVOID FLATTERY
Delilah used flattery and sweet words to gain access to Samson's mind. As soon as he accepted the nice things she said about his strength, Samson believed them and he gave in to her demands.
The words of people flatter us because we have the strength to do things that no one else can do. You may have this special talent of solving problems and as a result you tend to believe whatever they say about you.
That is exactly what happened to Samson.
"For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
But in the end she is bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double -edged sword.
Pro 5:3-4
This is exactly what Delilah did to Samsom. Thus she made Samson believed that he would prove his love frfor her only when he tells her his secret.
The secret to your strength is your weapon and you must guard it.
DON'T TRUST MAN
"Don't put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they. Is 2:22
While Samson was thinking about the love he has for Delilah, she was planning how to use him as bid to get a lump sum of money from the rulers of the Philistine.
This is why the bible warns several times not to put our trust in men.
Putting your trust in man can cause your downfall.
Don't put your trust in earthly things as well. Money, Fame, Awards, Achievements, Mansions, Career, Cars, Companies etc all these earthy things can vanish over night.
Your strength can bring you all these things but they cannot save you from disgrace and destruction.
Samson's fame and achievements as a warrior could not save him from disgrace but his trust in those things rather fuelled his downfall.
God has therfore encouraged us to trust in him.
PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD
"Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Eph 6:13-17
We have all the weapons available to our disposal to guard our strength from people like Delilah.
Joseph used these armors to his ability to dream abd interpret dreams by resisting people like Portiphar's wife.
No matter the deceitful words from the devil, these weapons can help us overcome.
God bless you for reading and doing according to what is expected of you.
@henryyeboah