Blind Sighted

For those attending Bedside Baptist the subject is “Blind sighted”. Scripture comes from Judges 13-16 chapters. We will focus on Judges 13:7 “But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.” And Judges 16:20. “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.” Samson was chosen BEFORE birth to be set apart from others for the service of God. He judged Israel for 20 years and his victories over the Philistines were solely with God as a partner. His commitment to God was the KEY to his strength. So why would the Lord leave him? Well, Samson chose to disregard his instruction as a Nazarite and he had a lustful eye for women. Both became a distraction and God was no longer his focus, weakening his relationship with God. He fell in love with Delilah, a prostitute who betrayed him to the Philistines. He told her HE believed his strength came from his uncut hair. While he slept, she cut his hair, he lost his strength and the Philistines captured him. The first thing the Philistines did was put out his eyes. Little did they know that they had done Samson a favor. In his blindness he was able to see God like never before. His sight had proven to be his downfall and now his blindness would lead to his greatest victory. The mighty warrior found himself blind, shackled, in prison grinding grain and entertaining his enemy. But the hair on his head began to grow again. Samson asked the servant to put him where he could feel and lean against the pillars that support the temple. Then he prayed to God for one last bout of strength and he collapsed the two central pillars killing all in the temple. Family, when you feel that God has left you and you are at the mercy of the enemy, don’t despair. Do like Samson, cry out to God, SEE God for who He is and pray again. God will hear your prayer. Amen.