This morning, I drove in the worst traffic I have ever driven in. I left my house at 7:50 am to go speak at Mexico City Christian Academy. I was scheduled to speak at 8:30, but I didn’t arrive until 9. It usually takes me only a half an hour to get there. But today, it was over an hour.
Most of the time, I was behind a Mustang GT, and I began to think about the waste of potential there was in that car. I would never own a Mustang GT in Mexico City because there is no reason to have that much power under the hood with very little opportunity to use it. I am always amazed that there is a Ferrari dealer here in this city.
My thoughts then wandered to Samson. He was a man of so much potential. He had lots of power. Judges says multiple times that the Spirit of God came on him. Imagine what he could have been. He was constantly stuck in traffic due to his own personal problems. I pray that my life can live up to its potential and that I can get out of the traffic jam that I sometimes get myself into.
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I’m reading and re-reading Judges 13-16 and the stories that are told about Samson. These chapters tell a lot about the man that we all remember as being very strong. We remember the story of Samson and his girlfriend Delilah, and her name is synonymous with women who trick and deceive. But there’s more to the stories of Samson than just his strength, hair, and impurity.
Samson was born into a Godly family. He was born under extraordinary circumstances. He had the potential to be a great man of God that would be remembered forever as the greatest judge that ever lived. The fact that he would be born was announced by an angel. He was a miracle from the beginning, and the hand of God was on him. But he ended up having his eyes plucked out by his enemies and committing suicide as a dying act of service to his God.
How did his life change so dramatically?
Samson’s problem was the desire for revenge more than it was impurity. It seems that in every story about him, he was always looking to get even with people. He was selfish and had poor self-esteem. These things led to his impurity. We can see this from the first words he speaks in Judges, when he tells his parents what he wants and will not settle for anything less.
Despite his shortcomings, God still used Samson. Imagine what God could have done through his life if he were fully devoted and would have dealt with the problems he had in his life.
The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man. -D.L. Moody
This video is a collection of video clips that we took while in Louisville, Kentucky, for the Youth Emphasis Week at the International Center for Youth Ministry at Southern Seminary.
Read more about the trip here, here, and here.
We often think that God is only powerful enough to work in the way we have experienced Him. In other words, we look to our past experience with Him and think that He will work the same way in our present situation. Instead of looking to His power, we look at ourselves and our experience.
But God is much more powerful than that. Almighty is an incredible word to ponder. All-Mighty. Think about it. The God we serve is powerful enough to do All. We limit His power because of our finite mind and experiences. I should be trusting Him to be exactly who He says He is: Almighty.
