While in the Fire

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Daniel 3:25

So, I'm turning 25 next week (yayyyyy!!). And last night I had a moment where I started thinking: "I am at the quarter of my life (if I manage to live to a 100) and what have I accomplished so far? What has God done in my life so far? What fruits do I have so far? What is life?" I didn't sleep, so you can imagine I was asking some very philosophical questions.  

And then today I started listening to preacher talk about 'Why does bad stuff happen to good people?'. It is a question I've been asked before and I have asked before. Looking around today, with wars, refugees trying to find their way to a better place away from the calamities etc., it makes a lot of people ask the question: 'If God is soo good, then why does he allow evil things, bad things to happen to people?' And I have no answer for that, God is still good, but why do bad things happen anyway?

Well, I wanna use the well known story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to illustrate my point. These were faithful men. In a previous post I wrote about their faith, these men stood up for God's will, against everything and God saved them. But before God saved them, they had to go through the fire, literally and figuratively. 

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.

Daniel 3:19-20

They stood up for God's will by not bowing down for any idols and other gods and this is what happens!!! They are going to DIE!!! WHAT!!!??? 

When the IS started their campaign a lot of Christians were persecuted for not following the beliefs of the IS. The stood up for their faith and they are now with Christ in heaven. And this is a worst case scenario. Standing up as a Christian takes many forms. Not only defying death, but also defying the will of the world. As a Christian in the "free world", "western culture" or however you want to call it, it isn't that easy. There are many distractions, bad things also happen to people in this part of the world. Poverty can also strike you, sickness, grief, pain takes different forms, struggles take different shapes. Something that is a struggle for me might not be a struggle for you, doesn't mean I don't struggle. 

It is pretty amazing to think that THE GOD that created everything will stand with ME in the fire. But he does. The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, doesn't only teach us to stand in faith and in  the will of God, but it also teaches us that God stands right there with us. 

I can't explain why we all have to go through the fire, but I'm sure that God will walk with us through it.

I have a friend, and she is an amazing woman, she has been blessed in many ways. God has used her to raise her children, and they are walking in the faith. And she is faithful to God. She will never let go. But, there is this one thing she has struggled with for a long time. She is alone, and she has always felt alone. She knows God is with her, but it's the physical aspect. She wants a husband. And while raising her children she choose to raise them alone, now she feels like she missed out and she really wants someone by her side. Everyone is grown up and she feels alone. That is her struggle, that is her fire. Being patient and waiting for God to provide that company. 

See... we all struggle in a different way, but God is with us while we are in the fire. He teaches us to wait for him, to trust in him. 

One more friend, which is pretty similar to my previous friend, her fire, her battle is in her mind. She's insecure, and she doesn't know exactly how to handle it. And I see God is pushing her out of her comfort zone, because that's where God wants her. 

I have learned a lot from my fires, and I've been in quite a few, but I was never alone in those fires. God is using them as part of my testimony. They are those milestones in my faith, where I can find strength and see that God has carried me up till here, and he is still carrying me.

Today I want to encourage you to simply get through it. God is in there with you. Maybe God is going to use this as your testimony to help people who are going through this as well. God always had a purpose, even when we move away from his will, he can turn everything into a blessing, 

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

 Daniel 3:28-29

God is with you in the fire, Nebuchadnezzar sees him. Can you?

Be blessed, and be a blessing to those around you! You are salt and light!

"How come he don't want me?"

"14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

Romans 15:14-17

Today I want to write about something that comes from my heart. I was watching some clips from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", and a very touching scene made me cry. Will hugged his uncle Phil after his father left him again, and cried out: "How come he don't want me?"

When I was about 3 or 4, my parents got divorced. After a few years of them being divorced due to conflict, my brother and I stopped seeing my father. And as a little girl I felt a bit of jealousy when I saw how great the fathers of my friends were, and I just didn't have that with my dad. Actually the few times I had contact with him were not exactly memories I think of as great ones, they sucked and they made me sad. And sometimes I felt like Will. I felt like I lacked something and that was the reason my father wasn't there. As a little girl, I wanted to be my dads princess, but he wasn't there for me. He hasn't been there for me at all.  And I know some people may feel that way, maybe one of your parents isn't there for you. Maybe they are both there, but you feel as if they aren't, or they don't understand you. Or simply you have issues with yourself, you feel like you lack something. But I will share with you how this didn't affect me as much, as I grew older. 

Soon enough, my mom taught me something that has helped me through my life as a christian. Something that has helped me stay in the path holding God's hand very tightly, that no matter how much I fail, no matter how much I stumble and fall, this truth has been with me since I was a little girl. My mom always told me that God is my father. It was a simple thing, but as we see in this verse it is a powerful truth. So since then when I pray I usually don't say God or Lord, I usually pray to my Father. As you may have a relationship with your father here on earth, I have that same relationship with my father in heaven. 

Being a child of God came with a great sacrifice. The sacrifice of Christ on that cross. Due to this sacrifice that wall of sin that was separating us from God, broke down. Literally, when the curtain ripped, and spiritually. The Holy Spirit of God brings about our adoption to sonship. We aren't just God's creations, we are his children. We inherit His Kingdom. I am my Father's little princess. 

And knowing this, has helped me work really hard as a christian to try and please my father. He isn't a distant God, that I have to fear. He is my father that loves me, and I am his daughter and of course as a daughter, I want to make him proud of me. I strive to become that pure gold, to one day be in his presence.

Our relationship with God has to be like this. You have respect for you father, you honour him and you want to make him proud. You want to show him that you cherish the values he has taught you throughout your life. God is the king of kings and as such we respect, honour him and give him glory. But as our father we can also love him. And this is what it comes down to. God loved us before so that we can know love and that we can show and give love. This love is what has kept me on this path and has helped me get back up when I fall. 

Sometimes I feel like some people don't understand the love of God. They have a lot of rules to avoid things from happening. And I'm not saying you shouldn't guard yourself, because you should. Satan is out there ready to snatch you away, and lie to you, making you think you're on the right path, and you are on the right path, to destruction! But you shouldn't forget that it's not by your strength that you are on the path God has set for you, but it's because of his love and grace. And once you understand how far this love goes, you can only be humble and try hard to stay on that path. Not by making rules and being afraid of failure, but by surrendering to his love and grace. 

Today I want to encourage you to surrender and accept God's love in your life. His pure and amazing love and we can't even begin to understand just by reading his word. We have to feel it and just by living in his will we can. I am amazed everyday at how great his love is. Just because of the fact that I can wake up, and I lack nothing. I mean sure, I'm a student, I have not much income, but even then God shows me that he will always provide for me. He gives me enough clothes, enough food. I see nature outside, I see how perfect he has created everything. I see how perfect he has created our bodies. My two cousins, their wives gave birth to two beautiful babies. And they are perfect! All of this can only be done by the amazing love that God has for us. The fact that I am here, making one of my dreams come true, shows me God's amazing and unfailing love. Doesn't that  make you want to get up everyday and show it back to him? Doesn't that make you just want to make him proud of you? I do. 

God bless you and be a blessing to those around you!

Waiting on You...

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:31

Today I want to write about waiting, as my title says. How many of us aren't just tired of waiting on God and his plan to finally be fulfilled. Sometimes we grow so tired of waiting that we start thinking 'maybe this isn't his plan at all...' I know sometimes I think that, so today I want to share a bit of my testimony. 

God has taught me patience in his way of teaching us patience, by putting you in a situation that will test you. In my case it was with school. Since I was little I've always wanted to become a lawyer and study law in the Netherlands. My ideas for a career changed during high school but the idea of coming to the Netherlands always stayed strong within me. When it was time to start looking for university my aim was the Netherlands, but in the end I started my bachelors in Curacao. Why? Because God told me: NOT YET. Emphasize on the "yet". 

God knows exactly when the perfect time for his plan to be fulfilled is. Maybe we think that he's taking too long, or maybe so long that he forgot so we should take matters into our own hands. 

School wasn't the only time God told me to wait. When I had my first boyfriend, I was crazy about him, but he wasn't a Christian so I had to make a choice, again it wasn't yet time to be with someone, I had to mature more and change. I wasn't ready yet. 

"He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."

Acts 1:7

I have a friend. She has been single for a very long time and she has given up. Or that's what she told me a few days ago. She has started thinking that maybe having a husband isn't what God has in mind for her. I don't agree. But the thing is, sometimes we put the plans God has for us before God. They become our new 'god', and there's where it goes wrong. 

God doesn't want us to specifically trust the plan, but he wants us to trust the planmaker. If I had gone crazy and decided to disobey when God told me to wait, maybe now I would be studying law still but maybe in other terms. I am in the Netherlands studying and I LOVE IT! I can see God's hand in everything. I live in a big city, and there I found a room near my school and near the centre. My room is great, my classmates are awesome and all because God had every little detail planned and all I had to do was wait on his terms and his timing. 

What do I tell my friend who has given up? I told my friend to stop focussing on the plan, and to start focussing on the planmaker. God makes the plan and he makes the way, all he asks for us is to obey him and look at him for each step we take. Fix your eyes on Him. 

If you are like my friend ready to give up, because you think that maybe you understood the plan wrong, that maybe it's just your own heart deceiving you, don't loose heart. Look up to the one that is making the plans and making the path. Maybe you think his not yet was a not anymore, and that isn't the case. When God is planning he also plans the time it will take to fulfill it because he knows us and he wants us to be ready for the plan, so he makes the way to prepare us. 

Even the plan for Jesus took its time. He started when he was 30. His people walked the desert for 40 years! So STOP worrying so much and start trusting more.  I always say trust his plan, but that changes today into trust Him who makes the plans. 

I want to encourage you today to trust in the Lord, not his plan but just Him. You will see that everything he has been putting you through is to teach you, to prepare you for the great plans he has for you. 

God bless you and keep being a blessing to those around you. 

PS: These days I've been listening to the songs Fix my eyes and To the dreamers by For King and Country. These are great songs to encourage you to trust Him. And I personally love these songs too. =)

Meet Me at Sinai

Today I would like to write about something I have learned in the last few months. I have been very busy with graduating for my bachelor's degree in Law  and moving to a new country to continue studying, but I am back with more faith and more strength to get to where God is leading me.

19 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. ² After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

Exodus 19:1-2

After three months of walking the people of Isreal reached Mount Sinai. When looking at the map we can see that mount Sinai is the furthest point that God has taken his people from the promised land. If I would be going to my promised land I would take the shortest way there. But God did something different. He took them the other way, the longest way.

Comparing this to our spiritual walk with God, what can we learn from this? Recently something happened to a person I know. She was very confident in her walk with God, very sure that she will not fail him ever again. But she did. She failed him in a way that hurt her a lot. So God took her to the furthest point from the Promised land, he took her to Mount Sinai.

Why does God take us there?

³ Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ⁴ ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶ you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Exodus 19:3-6

What is the purpose of taking us so far? Why doesn't God take the fastest road to the Promised land? Why? Well in this passage he explains it: "you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

God wants to set us apart. He wants to make us a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. In a time where everybody is following trends, God wants us to be different. But why mount Sinai? What happens there? 

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

Exodus 19:9

At mount Sinai, you will have a true encounter with God. He has his own way of doing things, and in this passage we can see that in its full glory. God takes us down to mount Sinai to have an encounter with his people.

 

Sometimes we are so full of ourselves and our spirituality, but when we are put to the test and we fail, we tend to fall forgetting that these tests are meant to make us stronger each day. To go from one level to the other, but also to keep us humble. To keep us grounded, to not let our pride come in the way of the blessings God has for us, and mainly to keep us living in the presence of God. The people of Israel had been walking in the desert for three months already, with God guiding them, but before you enter the promised land, before you can reach to where God wants to take you, you must be completely immersed in his presence. And this happened in Mount Sinai. Here God spoke not just through Moses to his people. He spoke directly at them.

Today I want to encourage you, that even though you are walking in the desert and you don't see the promised land yet, ask God if maybe he wants you to camp at Mount Sinai. Maybe God is reaching out to you to take you to a deeper level with him, but first he must take you there to have an encounter with Him.

It isn't easy going there, being there, but I trust him, and I want him completely. I want to be completely immersed in his presence. Take a leap into the river of his blessings. Let him fill you completely. Get the strength you need to finish the walk in the desert, and get to your promised land, ready to take it!

God has a great plan for his people, and you are part of his amazing plans. Trust him completely and listen to his voice telling you to camp.

Meet me at Mount Sinai and lets feel his full presence and continue this walk until we reach his promises.

God bless you and continue being a blessing for those around you.

You created me...

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

Psalm 139:13

Since this is the first post for this year... Happy New Year!! Happy and prosperous 2015!
This month has been a month filled with ups and downs. Its been the rollercoaster month. And in this month I've discovered a lot about me and about my faith and I would like to share this with you.

I felt the pain of loving someone that is far and also the pain of hurting someone you love that is near. They both suck equally as much. I've realized that I am a bit more selfish than I care to admit and also that I have more insecurities than I care to show. I guess its part of the process of growing up, becoming independent, seeing your dreams come true and also realizing when some might not come true.

Psalm 139 came to my mind this morning after not having the best day of my life yesterday. Maybe I got a wake up call from God telling me no matter what you do, your mistakes are no surprise to me, its part of me making you what I want you to become. Just follow through with this, learn, change, grow and become what I have planned for you.

Some of us wonder why certain things happen to us. Like why would someone become a killer, or why would someone abuse of someone else, why are children starving in Africa. And well I don't know. It might be because humans are greedy, maybe God wants us to be the good in this world of bad things. He wants us to be the light yes. But in this Psalm there is a hope for us, in these dark places.

'If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.'

Psalm 139:11-12

 It doesn't matter where we are, what we are going through or went through, even in the darkest places his light shines. This Psalm shows me that the love God has for me was the reason he created me. He knew it all before that, he knew my mistakes, he knew I was gonna fail him, and yet he made me anyway.

A lot of times I hear people say that God punishes them for the mistakes they made, it isn't so much a punishment but the consequences of our actions. God was ready to punish his people many times, but he warned them before, even after they failed God gave them a chance to repent. He always sent his prophet to tell his people: ' Look guys, you made a mistake, there is still time to fix things, just say you're sorry and stop messing up. You got a chance here, if not well you guys will be punished.'
And most of the time when they repented God forgave them. Gave them another chance. Today we have Jesus. He gave us the ultimate chance, the ultimate forgiveness. He took a stand for us and said I take over your sins, past and future, just repent in time.

And I'm not saying this is like a free pass to sin, but once you understand the magnitude of this sacrifice it will make a change in you. It is making a change in me.

Today my eyes opened to a whole new me. I realized that I messed up and God is giving me that pull telling me 'hey look I'm giving you a chance here, take it.' And God is probably telling you something like that also.

He created you with a purpose. Everything that has happened to you in the past, your mistakes, everything has led up to you being who you are today. Good things and bad things have made you who you are today. Are you happy with that? And if the answer is no, have you ever thought why you aren't happy with it?  Of course I don't know, I've had my share of a difficult emotional life, but God has blessed me enough to help me go through it all, and it wasn't bad compared to certain cases I've studied in books. But when I think about it, I guess I try to be positive, but the fact that you went through something bad in your past, it gives you a huge survival testimony. And if you're in the way of God, if you believe that Jesus gave his life for you on that Cross, if you stop and think for a moment that you were worth it, everything that you have been through is part of God's plan for your life. This might sound cliche, but he does give his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers, and once you are here you aren't even a soldier anymore, you're his General, you're his Captain.

Today I want to encourage you, that if you are going through some tough times do like David did, he didn't see the Giant in front of him, he counted the blessings and situations his God had gotten him through to prepare him for that exact moment. It was all training for the fulfillment of the ultimate goal. Right now you are in training camp. He is preparing you to become a General, a Captain, to be his heir. And if you had a difficult past, remember God has a plan for you. He made you, he knitted you in your mother's womb. He knew what he was going to do with you before he created you. He created you exactly for that purpose. Never forget that he has a plan and he will use what you have learned from all of it for his purpose. You are his living testimony. You not only survived but you came, you saw and you conquered.

He will soon show you what the purpose is, just keep looking at him and he will build the road on which you have to walk towards Him.

God bless you and be a blessing to those around you!

An army of Dry Bones...

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” 

Ezekiel 37:11-14 

These days I've been struggling quiet a bit in the Spiritual. I have friends who are struggling also. It's like this is the time of Spiritual struggling, but even in this time I feel that God wants me to write about this.

Lately I've been feeling really stressed and a bit let down. I am now in my valley of dry bones. And when you are here you don't really see it. You think everything is going alright till you get thirsty. I got thirsty and I saw this valley. Spiritually I'm not as strong as I was before. I've lost my focus on the Lord even though everyday he shows me where to go and what to do, I've lost my path.

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 

Ezekiel 37:1-3

In this verse God asks the prophet if these bones can live. If there is any hope? The prophet answers in the only way his faith can allow him. Only the Lord can know. Our hope lies in Him. 

So as I sit here in this valley all my hope can be only found in Him. I guess just like a desert, God allows us to come into this valley where its all dead and creepy to show us his great power and grace. 

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Ezekiel 37:4-10

God spoke to the prophet and told him to prophesy unto these bones. Tell them to come to life. God is talking to us today. As we struggle in our faith in a world filled with temptations and difficulties, God is calling us to speak out his word to the world. To call out to the dead hearts, the dead spirits. To lift them up and show them that there's only hope in Him. But also to speak to our own lives, our own dead hearts and our own dead spirits.  

For us who are struggling I realized that we struggle when God wants us to reach a higher level. He wants to use us but in a greater way. He doesn't want us to stay in this comfortable routine we call "Christian life". God loves to shake things up. Take this as a time to think what God is trying to teach you and learn it. Ask him to open your eyes and heart and let Him show you the next step. 

We are becoming like these dry bones. Lifeless. Spiritless. World hunger dominating, people are homeless, hopeless and sinful. Just like in this verse we are in a valley filled with dry bones. Its time to prophesy unto them. Call them out to com to live. The army of God will rise against the works of Satan and his demons. As Christians we are already in His army, we must be strong. He trains us in these struggles to reach higher levels, he teaches us strategies on how to defeat Satan and come out victorious. He has already defeated him, he knows how to and he is willing to share it with us. Lets take time with him, lets learn from him. Lets prophesy unto our own dry bones. Lets restore our hope. Lets work on our faith. 

The prophet had a strong faith, he didn't prophesy with disbelief. He didn't go after what he saw. I hear a lot from Christians saying that this world is hopeless, that they don't belong here anyway. NO! I mean yes of course we belong with our Father. We are not OF this world but we are IN this world. Our treasures aren't here, but God sent us here to be the light and salt of THIS world. We have to care more. Like I said in a previous post, lets not be just "Sunday Christians". Lets show everyday what God has done in our lives and who he is. 

Today I want to encourage you to prophesy unto your valley of dry bones. In that hopeless place. Prophesy life, that God will bring his breath of life. Maybe you are struggling in the physical stuff, like financially, maybe with school, maybe with your parents or children. Prophesy LIFE. 

You are the prophet, the Lord is talking to. You are Israel. You are his people. Prophesy his breath of life in your valley of dry bones. And rise up. Come out and do his works. Fulfill your calling. Everything you have ever been through is part of your testimony. If you must forgive, do it! If you have to let go of things that happened and hurt you in the past, take them as a lesson and not as something bad that happened. Lets rise up again and again. 

God is calling us to a higher level, answer His calling!

Be blessed and be a blessing to those around you. You are the light and salt of this world. Prophesy unto these dry bones and they will come to life!

Protect Your Calling

I have finally decided to post something again. These last few months have been a bit stressful and well as you all know when we are stressed we tend to lose focus. But today I am back again. 

7 They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.

- Psalm 84:7

Earlier today I was speaking to a friend about dreams. Sometimes God uses dreams, visions, to reveal things to us. He may reveal something he wants us to do, something we should change, an answer, and so many different things. He may also reveal to us our calling. 

Everybody knows the story about Samson and Delilah. This one can be found in Judges 16. The story of Samson and Delilah is a bit of a tragic love story. And its a story that if you look around it can be seen a lot. We love repeating history! 

Today we will talk about Samson's calling. God set him apart to save His people, to save a nation. Like Samson we all have a calling. Different calling, because God has created us all so unique and different, He has a special calling for each and every single one of us. He sets us apart from birth, even if we don't know. In Judges 13:5 God sets Samson apart by telling his mother:

5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

- Judges 13:5

God doesn't just set him apart, like "Hey I'm gonna use you and I will tell you when to act" No, God makes him also look different from the rest. When God calls us, He doesn't want us to be like everybody else, He wants us to be different. To be spotted from far. 

Something I've learned as a Christian is that we are set in a place of example to others. Even though we are far from perfect, and fail a lot, God wants us to be like Jesus. Even if you don't believe like I do, that he is the Son of God, that He is God, you will agree that Jesus wasn't exactly a crowd pleaser, or that he blended in perfectly with the crowd. He stood out, you could spot him from far. You knew he was coming. God wants the same for us. He calls us to be different. To be light in a world dominated by darkness. When people see us as Christians, Followers of Christ, they should see who we are following. Yes God is gracious, and YES He calls us as we are, but also God calls us to be like His son. For our ways to become His ways. 

Samson was different, he was a Nazirite. And he had a special calling from birth. He was going to save Israel. Now I know how big of a responsibility that would be, and well on my own I wouldn't be able to do anything. God gave him everything he had. The superhuman strength he possessed wasn't from working out, going to the Gym everyday, drinking protein shakes etc. His strength came from above. As long as he obeyed God.

And then along came miss Delilah. The beautiful deceiving Delilah. 

Everyone has a Delilah in their lives. We all do have something that brings us away from the path towards our calling. There is always something, there will always be a Delilah. 

Delilah can come in all shapes and sizes. It can be in your computer, your TV, your phone... Nowadays its usually something with technology. But Delilah can also be a person. Someone that tries to lead you away from the path God has set you on. Someone that leads you away from your calling into disobedience. 

Samson disobeyed God, and what did God do? God took away His strength from him. Not because God is acting like a spoiled little girl, that takes away her Barbie dolls from you because you won't do as she says, but because Samson broke the connection he had with God. When Delilah cut his hair, she didn't just cut the hair, she took away what set him apart. 

Don't let Delilah cut your hair! 

When you read the story of Samson and Delilah you go like "I know this will not end well". Why can't we do the same with the Delilahs in our lives? Why is it so hard to say " I know this isn't going to end well, Get out!".

We have to protect our calling. Satan is a roaring lion outside our doors. He is hungry, he wants to see us fail. But he will stay hungry for we will NOT fail! 

When we go through trials, God is teaching us lessons. God is making us stronger with His strength. He is showing us how to trust Him, how to let ourselves be consumed by Him in such a way that He will use us to do great things. 

Psalm 84 talks about how great it is to be in the presence of our God. It also speaks about how blessed we are if we trust in Him and if our strengths are in Him. 

In God we will go from strength to strength, till we appear before Him in Zion. How glorious that will be. God makes us stronger and stronger each day not only to fulfill His will and calling here on earth, but also to fulfill our greatest calling, to one day be in His presence.

WOW!! 

Today I want to encourage you, to beware of the Delilahs out there that are trying ever so hard to take you away from that calling. Stay strong in the Lord, He will make you stronger each day till the day that we fulfill the greatest calling!

God bless you and be a blessing to those around you!