When emotions get the best of you
stay silent and go on about your day or open your mouth and something bad happens…
Scripture
'The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.' Judges 13:3,5,24-25
'Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord , who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”
Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.” “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him.
She in turn explained the riddle to her people. Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home. And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions who had attended him at the feast.' Judges 14:1-2,4-6,15-17,19-20
'Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?” He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.” They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said, “Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.” “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. ' Judges 15:11-15
'Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.”
While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord , “Sovereign Lord , remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. ' Judges 16:15-30
Observation
samson was destined to do great stuff - from an angel telling his parents he’ll be used by God to save his people from the philistines; as a young man killing a lion; to being mocked and his people being mistreated by the philistines and getting his revenge; to sacrificing his life and taking lives of evil people as God intended him to do (loosely paraphrased).
in-between all of this action, samson had a real problem - women. not that they were the problem in of itself, but that they were his weakness. how many other men over the years have had their lives spiral out of control because they were unable to stand firm in their convictions, not allow them to be manipulated, or to be controlled because of the need for sexual intimacy.
i’ve let the desire of women get the best of me and it led to my downfall on several occasions. not that i was manipulated by them, instead i let the sin of desire, of temptation, and adultery take root and let it grow out of control.
besides your spiritual health, being emotionally healthy is so important. how you handle situation when your feelings are high, low, or all over the place, is a reflection of your walk with Jesus. are you only reactive, do you always attack, are you calm, etc.?
samson’s struggle to deal with his wife’s words and actions led him to losing what God had blessed him with, ultimately leading to his death, because he didn’t have the ability to control his emotions properly.
Application
i should have learned what are my hot buttons and don’t ever let myself get to the point of breaking. with such an important assignment that God gave samson, i don’t want to make the same mistake of blowing it when all i have to do is keep my mouth shut, have my mind and heart centered on our Lord, and do what i was given the opportunity to with the power of The Spirit of The Lord guiding me. this goes from me trying to run things, to truly giving it up to Jesus to lead.
dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you continue to open my eyes to areas that still need work. one of them is that women are not my weakness, it is my heart, my eyes, and my thoughts that need to be kept in check. may my desire be to focus on you, to please you, to love you back. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!