God’s Man! Part 2

The Heart of God’s Man! 

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3.5,6 

 

Samson 

When I think about matters of the heart and misplaced passions, I’m reminded of Samson. Samson was a man’s man! He was a man of great physical strength. His strength was a blessing from God; however, arrogance, lust, and self-confidence would be his downfall.  

Samson did, however, have a certain devotion to God; his strength was used by God many times over. But in issues of the heart, Samson was weak. Judges 14:1-4 says: 

Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.’  

Then his father and his mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she looks good to me.’ 

Yikes! This is not going to end well.  

(Note: This wife is not the infamous Delilah. She will emerge later in the story).  

This narrative gives us a glimpse into the divided heart of Samson. Samson still had a heart to be used by God but he also allowed his eyes to be enticed by the beauty of this Philistine woman. He was playing the dangerous game of a divided heart.  

ALERT: Men, you can be deceived into thinking that you can float in and out of worldly passions while maintaining a relationship with God. You tell yourself; I know this is wrong but deep in my heart I love God and want to serve him. Soon I will get my life back to being whole. But for now, God knows I love Him even though I’m doing wrong.’  

Technically, the grace of God may allow you to flow back and forth from God to sin and then back to God. But it won’t end well. You must call upon God’s grace and the accountability of Christian brothers to break the cycle. Yes, you can cling to God’s grace but if you remain defiant, you must ask yourself if you really are in God’s grace at all? Paul told Titus in 2:11; 

For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age… 

God’s grace not only saves us but teaches us to live obediently under the discipleship of Jesus. We are called to embrace God’s grace to be saved and continue to embrace God’s grace to be sanctified. 

 

Back to Samson: Here he goes again! 

Later, Samson was enticed by another beautiful woman. Samson married the beautiful yet evil and scheming Delilah. Her goal was to bring him down. He married her but he resisted giving her his whole heart. This is important to understand. During this early stage of his marriage, he was straddling both sides of the fence: following God’s laws on one side and flirting with the world of Delilah on the other side. This is a dangerous place to reside. 

Things turned ugly for Samson when he put his guard down and gave his heart to Delilah. Delilah begged him and begged him to reveal his secret and bear his heart. In Judges 16, we see that she wore him down: 

Then she said to him, how can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?” 16:15 

Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever put yourself in a place where a beautiful woman could wear you down? Samson finally caved in and gave himself away to her, disclosing the secrets of his heart.  

It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. So, he told her all that was in his heart… 16:16, 17. 

No longer was Samson’s heart divided between God and Delilah. He fully opened his heart to her. Delilah immediately went to the men of Philistine. Read the words that Delilah spoke: 

When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.’ Judges 16:18. 

That evening, Samson laid his head on the lap of Delilah and fell asleep. Laying his head on Delilah’s lap is a physical representation of his trust; his heart was surrendered to her. He placed himself in a vulnerable position, thus, transferring his heart, his trust, and his hope to her over God. 

Metaphorically speaking, Samson placed his trust and hope in the lustful pursuits of this world. What happened to Samson could happen to us. Samson gave his heart to the passions of this world and while he was in this position of vulnerability, Delilah ripped out his heart and gave it to his enemies.  

 

Friends, do not place your head in the lap of Delilah!  

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it, Proverbs 4:23. 

 

Father, there is so much in this world to distract and entice us. At every turn and every temptation, always lead us back to Proverbs 3:5,6; Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Amen!