Fri.’s Devo - God’s Power

Read: Judges 13:1-14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16
The story of Samson is a riddle in itself. God raised up Samson to deliver Israel from the Philistines and he used Samson’s weakness with women to be strong for Israel. Samson chose a woman from the Philistines to marry then, according to tradition, he proposed a riddle with a consequence. The woman was threatened with the life of her family if she didn’t find out the answer to his riddle. You can’t blame her for tricking Samson, but it wouldn’t go well for her or her family in the end. We will read about that tomorrow. Today, Samson found out how the spirit of God worked in his life with the lion and experienced it again with the thirty men in Ashkelon. Samson was discovering his super-power.
David and Samson both discovered their strength when they came face to face with a lion. We will too.
This is how we learn our spiritual gifts; we are put in situations where we need them to operate and they do. Everyone wants a miracle, but none of us want to need a miracle, but that is how we are stretched and realize the power that God has put in us. We are stronger than we think because God is strong in us.
In John, we find John talking to two of his closest disciples. One of them is Andrew. John pointed out Jesus telling them that he was the Messiah and how God had told him to baptize people with water. One day, he would see the Holy Spirit come down like a dove and remain on a man and that man would be the Messiah. Jesus was that man. When Andrew heard that he immediately left John and went to follow Jesus. Then he went and got his brother Peter. Jesus picked up Philip to follow him and Philip went and got his friend Nathanael. Nathanael was skeptical because he was told that Jesus was from Nazareth. Talk about prejudice! Jesus gave him a word of knowledge that he had seen him under the fig tree. I can imagine that Nathanael had prayed a specific prayer under that fig tree and Jesus was the answer. It changed Nathanael’s whole perspective.
Jesus, You are the answer to everything. It is so comforting to know that You prayed, “let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” We know that your prayer will be answered.