When I went to Bible college, I had a wife, two daughters, and absolutely no money! We were confident that God had called me to attend college even though we weren’t sure exactly why. After we determined that we couldn’t afford a house near the college, we brought our need to Him.
God did answer, but in an unexpected way: He didn’t provide a home, so I lived separately from my family. In fact, we saw one another only on weekends and sometimes not even then. The usual line we heard from well-meaning believers in Jesus was, “That’s not God. You’ve gotten this wrong.” But God was preparing me to be a pastor, and I needed to be available for His training. Although it was difficult, we strived to follow God’s will and remain obedient to His call.
Samson definitely violated God’s will. He ate food from a animal carcass (Judges 14:9), he went after prostitutes (Judges 16:1), and he even married a foreign woman (Judges 14:2). He didn’t always get it right, but God still used Samson’s life for His purposes. His marriage, going against the law of Israel, was a part of God’s perfect plans (Judges 14:4). Although we should always seek to follow God’s will and be obedient to Him, He can still use us in our weakness and failures.
At some point our human logic will collapse under the weight of trying to explain God’s ways. That’s why it’s vital that we rest in the words of Isaiah: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts . . . my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” says the LORD (Isaiah 55:8).
God will often confound us by doing something that doesn’t fit our expectations. But it always fits His personality: He’s a God who’s exciting, sovereign, and full of surprises.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Judges 15:1-20
More:
Read John 6:53-69 and consider what happened when Jesus gave a hard teaching to the people. Then note Peter’s response.
Next:
How can you trust in the journey, even when the way is unclear and difficult? How has God surprised you recently?
Gary Shultz on March 12, 2015 at 6:53 am
Yes in deed. Is God not great in this way? To be able to work in and to life in so may different ways and colors, if you please. If someone says the godly life is boring they really have never seen what God can and wants to do. Grab faith and hold on to your hat. I suppose you and your wife eventually got back together….? Thanks
Tom Felten on March 12, 2015 at 11:35 am
Russell, thanks for sharing your story and the inspiring ways God has led you and your family. I’m reminded of so many times in my past where God worked in and through me to do things I didn’t expect. So often, He gave me part of a vision—something to begin. But then He completed it in ways I couldn’t have imagined. And, yes, so often the work He did was through my weaknesses not my strengths. What an amazing God!
russell fralick on March 12, 2015 at 1:11 pm
You are right Tom. Often God gives a part of a vision; it’s the part we can grab hold of, maybe understand enough of to carry on, but that’s all. Sometimes He even dangles a carrot in front of us, just to entice us down the road we need to go down, then He pulls that carrot away and gives us the real picture when we are able to bear the fuller revelation. He knows us so well, and never overburdens us; even when it feels like we can’t take any more! The God I serve is exciting, but rarely comfortable!
tgustafs on March 12, 2015 at 1:54 pm
Yep, that’s God! Always reliable, never predictable. Don’t you just hate that faith-growing stuff? 🙂