++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE FOOTSOLDIER
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IT AIN’T OVER
by jim hobby
One of the most inspiring stories in the bible is the story of Sampson. Most of us can relate to him because of his weakness and seemingly failure in his effort to fulfill God’s calling upon his life.
What started out like a barn burning story of power and success drifted into weakness, bondage, blindness and failure. A young man called of the Lord to deliver his people falling into the devil’s trap of lust, immorality and guilt.
Jesus looked over his crowd one day and these words rang out. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
Samson was very gifted and we can say he had much; but maybe we all do. When God needed a Billy Graham he first needed a no name preacher to troop through the mountains of North Carolina to find his Billy Graham. When he needed an Oral Roberts to carry his healing to a generation of people he needed a no name tent preacher to roam through the hills of Oklahoma, find a tuberculosis ridden Oral Roberts and to pray a healing prayer over him. The same goes for Billy Sunday, who was a curb stone convert, found at the time, by an unknown hallelujah bunch of God lovers led by a saintly Mrs. Clark, conducting a street meeting in Chicago.
After Thomas Edison perfected the light bulb the job of lighting up the world was just beginning. Millions were needed to manufacture the lights and to wire the world before the miracle would be complete.
Fanny Crosby wrote over eight thousand gospel songs and hymns but God still needed millions of voices and musical instruments to send her music echoing around our world.
The bottom line is; we are all in this thing and it is like a chain. The links have to hang in and do their jobs.
Maybe Sampson’s early failure was due to his lack of time in the fires of life. Maybe he had an attitude of “easy come easy go” and took the great powers that God entrusted him with too lightly. Great people like great high pressure steam lines must go through some stress relief process before they can really serve their purpose in our world.
Before Moses stretched forth his hand and parted the Red Sea he spent forty years on the back side of the desert in God’s training camp. How many nights did he look up into the stars and wonder if the God that delivered him from the Nile River was ever going to use his life to help others? How many bushes did he see that were not burning before he found the one that lit up and initiated a conversation with the God of Heaven that started giving direction for his purpose in life? God stopped the sun, put brakes on the moon and sent hail stones flying out of Heaven for Joshua but there was a forty year period where he lived with the doubters and the dying in the wilderness. Days and nights of wondering if his believing in the invisible God was going to start paying the dividends for which he hoped.
Sampson’s early life was filled with unbelievable battles and victories. Killing a lion with his bare hands, hauling the door in the gate of the city to the top of a hill, killing a thousand men single handedly with the jawbone of an ass…Catching 300 foxes and setting the enemy’s barley field aflame with their tails tied together.
Selling wine before it’s time and coming out of your wilderness early is not a short cut to maturity. We must spend our time in God’s training camp before we can accomplish our assignment to build his kingdom.
Sampson’s training was about to take on a new level as he snoozed in Delilah’s lap and began to play games with the great power with which God had entrusted him. Slowly and in her subtle way she began to question him concerning the great physical strength that he had used to kill her people. It was nag, pressure and nag some more. Get in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person and wrong is going to win out.
The bible says, “… She pressed him daily with
her words, and urged him, so that his soul was
vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart.”
Our hearts can misguide us; they can go into a romantic spin cycle and leave us reeling until our senses return, and at times, they return too late.
Soloman writes, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23)
Jeremiah says, “The heart is deceitful above all things; and desperately wicked: Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9)
Samson was leading with his heart, and his life of fame and victory was about to take a turn into a true horror story.
As he divulged the secret of his strength being in his hair and dozed off to sleep he never dreamed that the enemy was going to job out his eyes and imprison him to be it’s slave. So subtle, so sneaky, so dirty, slimy or whatever adjective you may use to describe an evil that is indescribable.
When Delilah got him tied up and screamed, “The Philistines are upon thee…..” The bible says, “….He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.” (Jud. 16:20)
When Samson stepped into the yard and looked to the stars he was accustomed to a Holy Ghost shake. A moving, a power, a knowing, a connection with Heaven, a goose bump hallelujah screaming surge from heaven. A gate ripping, lion killing, enemy slaughtering power over all power to wreak havoc in the devil’s territory; but it was gone. Gone. God gone. Power gone. Peace gone. Tranquility gone.
How do you describe the darkness, the fear, the uncertainty and the hopelessness that comes with lose and bondage? How do you describe the “God Gone” feeling in your bosom while the enemy has you bound and is staring you in the eye?
This is where our bibles come in. It’s words have a ring and a way of perking us up and motivating us to a deeper understanding of life and to a higher level of spiritual understanding. Deep down we know that it is God himself speaking to us through this wonderful book. The prophet Hosea wrote, “…My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” (Hosea 4:6) Soloman wrote, “…Ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear cometh.” (Prov. 1:25 & 26) The Apostle Paul urged us to.”Study..” Jesus said to “Learn of me….”
King David discovered how to turn his bad into good. He said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted: that I might learn thy statutes.” (Ps. 119:71) Also, “before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept thy word.” (Ps. 119:67)
Samson was grinding at the mill. Grinding in the darkness; hot, sweaty, slapping mosquitoes, pushing the harness round and round. No more cheers from the crowd. No more hero welcomes home. Grinding at the devil’s mill. How many billions in our world are in the same arena? Maybe not in a physical sense but bound in their spirits. Fear, drugs, alcohol, lust, poverty and sickness. Mental torment plus physical pain. Dying little by little in a life filled with the “whys,” the “if onlys,” the shouldas,” and the “couldas.”
Things happen in the mill. Character happens in the mill. Patience develops in the mill. Reflection works in the mill. Regret can turn to determination in the mill. Bitterness can turn to tenacity and grit while grinding at the mill. God takes his hammer and saw and builds you a pulpit to change your world in your mill. A fire can ignite in your bosom while in the mill room.
The bible says, “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again..” (Jud. 16:22)
God doesn’t roll over and cry uncle when we fail. Samson belonged to the Lord and God wasn’t then nor now in the business of throwing a faulty vessel in his garbage pile. While Samson was pushing in the grinding mill harness God was pushing hair out of his scalp and pushing in hope.
Jesus said, “…I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10)
When a soul comes to the Lord Heaven rejoices and when Sampson was grinding at the mill the devil’s crowd was having it’s party.
Where is this Samson that has tricked and slaughtered our people? As the creek water (whisky) flowed and as the tongues got thicker the call to bring Samson to the packed out coliseum got louder and louder.
There is a scripture in the Bible that says, “…Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” (1 Chr. 16:22)
The bible says, “….They set him between the pillars.” (Judges 16:25) Somebody should have started screaming “Haircut!” Somebody should have ran into the arena with the clippers. Somebody should have had enough discernment to scream, “ fire, help, rape, robber;” anything to set off the “get out of here” alarm. The crowd should have been breaking for the exit doors like wild road runners streaking across the desert. Unknowing to the drunk fans, God had gotten into the house. The roof ripping, fire cooling, lion taming, sea separating, dead raising Lord of Heaven and earth was bringing in His arena wrecker.
There was about to be some real sport. God sport. House wrecking, concrete falling, ground shaking, rebar bending, devil killing serious sport. Faith building, life changing, Holy Ghost, Heaven going sport.
The Bible says in the early part of this story that, “The Philistines took him..“ Now the tide is changing. It says, ““Samson took hold…” (Jud. 16:29)
Samson started an activity that was not recorded in his earlier life. He tilted his head backward with his blinded eye sockets directed to the heavens. “O Lord GOD, remember me……….. …strengthen me…I pray thee…this once…that I may be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” (Jud. 16:28)
Samson began to pray. Slowly there was a peace and a power flooding his soul. Softly and tenderly a still small voice began to speak in his bosom. Samson, I know you can’t see, just wrap your arms around those pillars and pull. In your darkness with everything within you; pull. Pull until you feel debris sprinkling your back. Pull until you hear concrete breaking. Pull until you hear screams of horror from this crowd of demons. Pull until you feel these columns cracking and this roof crumbling. When you feel you are weakening, pull. When fear comes, pull. When you can pull no more, pull anyway! Pull until you kill every demon in this house. You were mine when things were good, you were mine when things were bad and you are still mine. It is time to come home.
The bible says, “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.” (Jud. 16:30)
No matter how difficult things may seem….it isn’t over until God says it is over. He did not knock the ball out of the park he knocked the park out of the Philistine ball. He loves us and he is with us forever.
Maybe things are going awry in your life…bad things do happen and they happen to good people. Just take a moment to whisper this prayer to Heaven….I promise…it will help…and it may be the beginning of something wonderful!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for speaking to my life through the Sampson story. Please help me out of my mill of darkness and bondage. Use my remaining days to labor for you. Please wrap me in your arm and forgive me of my sins as I give myself to you all over again. Amen.
Signed______________________________________
Email Jim Hobby [email protected]
Text: 863 510 6950
Website <footsoldierministries.org>
<https://www.facebook.com/jim.hobby.3>