God will never leave us nor forsake us

Hi, it has been a minute. So I was reading the story of Samson from the book of Judges 15-16 this morning (actually I started yesterday and got derailed ?), and I realized how careless Samson was with the gift God gave him as a judge. Chapter 15 talks about how Samson took some gifts to woo his wife whom he left in anger previously and he was told that his wife had been given to another. This infuriated him so much that he punished the Philistines by burning their fields. They in turn retaliated by killing his wife and her parents which made Samson so mad that he attacked them with a vengeance and killed a thousand of them alone using the jaw of a donkey.

After this victory, watch this, he demanded of the Lord to provide him with water because he was thirsty. Do you know what, God responded by providing him with the water he asked for. He did not ask in a meek way but a Samson like manner. The point is that however we are, God made us and he knows how to respond to us. Some of us are brash, some nice and polite, some fearful (although God has not given us a spirit of fear 2 Timothy 1:7), timid or what have you, God still responds to us how we are and does not expect us all to be the same. Granted we are to be like Jesus but that depends on how much you spend in the word and cultivate your soul in the Holy spirit to know Jesus, then he in turn will begin to fill you up so that you can become more like him.

God has not changed, he loves us John 3:16. God is still the same merciful, generous and kind God he has always been and will continue to be, amen to that. But it is our attitude that will literally determine our altitude in God. If we are careful to seek him in all we do, he is faithful to guide and direct us along the best part for us. Genesis 17:1 talks about God instructing Abraham on how to walk before him. Abraham did what he could do as a man and God did the rest. So God is faithful because of his nature, so whether we have a careless personality like Samson who was pretty much not too mindful of his blessings and took them for granted or you are more dilligent in your walk like Job, God responds to all of us in different ways but still remains faithful to whom he is. He does not say, “hey, you have been disobedient so I am going to withhold things from you”. If he did that not one of us would be left. Samson, even went as far as revealing the secret of his strength but God was still with him and was faithful until the end. That’s just whom he is.

There was no place where God condemned Samson per se, in that he married whom he wanted to marry, even God had clearly told the Israelites not to intermarry with the Philistines but because of those decisions he made he had a very rocky and turbulent experience as a judge in Israel. Perhaps if he had been more mindful of the things of God, he may have had a less traumatic experience with God. But in all, God was faithful to him and held nothing back even causing his hair to grow back and allowing the Holy spirit to use him in the temple when he was blind and everyone had given up on him.

So, in essence, it does not matter whom we are and I dare to say how we are (although the how determines if we obey the Holy spirit more), God loves us and can use us if we avail ourselves to him. I used to think that it is only when I am perfect that God could use me, scratch that because I have come to realize that a) God can use anyone and b) I can never be perfect (righteous). The bible says in Romans 3:10-12, Psalm 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3 that none is good. It is in how we seek God that changes our lives, changes us from the inside out to become more like him. Even Jesus said in the book of Luke 18:19 that no one is good except God alone.

Let me encourage you today that whomever you are and wherever you may be in your life right now that God wants you to know him and for you to seek him so that he can walk with you. It does not matter how you are, it is God who can make the difference in your life. If you seek him, seek with all your heart he will find you and come in and dwell with you. He does the work of transformation and not the other way around. The lie that I had to be perfect to be used by God plagued me most of my Christian life as I constantly struggled with my conscience and condemned myself because I felt inadequate. But I have come to realize (still realizing) that God is always with me, even in my worst state that he will never leave me nor forsake me as that is my heritage in Christ. This truth is the same for all believers as long as you have confessed the Lord with your lips and believe in him in your heart, we all have the same heritage and truth.

On the other hand, if we chose to be careless about God’s gifting to us or we do not seek him, then we can not fully enjoy our walk with him and we can stifle the Holy spirit. God on his own never takes away what he gives us, Matthew 10:5-8 talks about God giving freely his empowerment to us. Romans 11:29 also talks about God’s gift and calling being without repentance, blessed be God forever.

In a nutshell, we may not be experiencing the fullness of God’s presence or enjoying him the way we want to because we are not diligently seeking or connecting to him but God on his own is always with us and he will never leave us nor forsake us, Deuteronomy 31:6. So what to do, keep reading the word and fellowshipping with fellow believers. Find a bible based church that preaches the word of God without repentance, seek the Holy spirit to guide you to teachings that can illuminate your understanding of whom God is and most importantly, stay tuned and submissive to the Holy spirit.

But if you are yet to make Jesus the lord of your life, I encourage you to do so now. The bible says now is the day of salvation 2 Corinthians 6:2, if you hear the voice of the Lord calling, please do not brush it off and respond to him. Tell him you repent of your sins and you want him to come into your heart to become your savior and Lord, and he will immediately. Because only a fool says in his/her heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1-3). God loves you and he wants you to know him. God bless you.