Confused

"You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazarite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines."

- An Angel of the LORD, Judges 13:5

"Nothing will shake a person -- or at any rate a person like me -- out of his superficial thinking and his popular beliefs. I have to be knocked silly before I come to my senses. Only discomfort will bring out the truth. Only when I'm extremely uncomfortable will I discover it myself."

- C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

How can something be the will of God and still go wrong? I think Samson must have asked himself that question at least once or twice before he pulled that pagan temple down upon himself and 3000 enemies of God's people. You remember the story? Chosen by God, Samson was destined by God from birth to deliver the Israelites from the brutal oppression of the Philistines. But right out of the gate, Samson lusts after a tantalizing Philistine woman that his parents do not feel good about.

His father and mother objected. 'Isn't there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?’ they asked. 'Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?' But Samson told his father, 'Get her for me! She looks good to me.' His father and mother did not realize the LORD was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at the time."

- Judges 14:3-4

Have you ever had your kids come up to you and say something to you that made you want to swallow an entire bottle of Alka Seltzer… with no water? Samson is insistent.. .he's radical… and his parents are rightfully confused about it. And the Bible says his parents “did not realize the LORD was at work in this..."

I remember a fella who threw this scripture at his parents because he wanted to marry a woman that they did not like. He told them, "You're standing in the way of the Lord… why don't you let me marry who I love and get outta-the-way… stay out of my business… I mean when the Bible says it -- 'that this love is of the Lord' -- Well, I always thought that if something was of God, that it would work out wonderful, right?!"

You ever wonder, how something can be of God and still fail? Have you ever done something you were sure God wanted you to do… you were convinced it was God's will… you had the dream… the moonbeam fell upon her in that crowded room… you just knew she was the one… you saw all the signs… it only rained in the backyard and not in the front yard… and when you looked up at the clouds… the clouds spelled the word, "YES!" And so you married, certain it was God's will… and everything went wrong from the start. Then all hell broke loose in your life, and two years later you're empty and alone, whispering, "But God… I thought that was You!"

You ever hear about the farmer who was plowing his field one day, and he looked up and saw the clouds suddenly form a huge "P" "C". Immediately, he said to himself, "God is calling me to "P" Preach "C" Christ. So, he leaves the farm, goes to seminary, and becomes a pastor. Almost from the start, people start leaving the church; the church does not grow. In fact, the church eventually dies. Frustrated, the pastor says, "God, I thought that was You who wrote that "P" "C" in the clouds." And God replied, "I did! I was calling you to "P" Plant "C" Corn!"

...I thought that job was You, Lord!...

...I thought that marriage was You, Lord!...

...I thought that relationship was You, Lord!...

...I thought that house was You, Lord!...

...I thought that investment, that deal, was You, Lord!...

...I thought that surgery was You, Lord!...

...I thought that dream… that opportunity… that invitation... was You, Lord!...

How can something be the will of God… and still go wrong?

Listen, the will of God is not meant to always please you in the moment… the will of God is not meant to always make you comfortable in the present… the will of God is not designed to always make you feel good right now… The will of God is meant to move you to the place, where God wants you to be, so He can accomplish, in You and through You, His purpose in the world -- which is, to draw all people into a personal love relationship with Himself through Jesus. If you think doing the will of God is Heaven's guarantee that you will never have a problem, or a challenge, or an issue, or a heartbreak… you are absolutely mistaken! The will of God can lead you into all kinds of trouble…

...The will of God uprooted Abraham from his hometown and sent him out to… God knows where...

...The will of God led those three Hebrew teenagers into the fire… and out again...

...The will of God placed Daniel in the lion's den...

...The will of God moved Stephen to declare God's forgiveness under a hail of rocks...

...The will of God led Jesus into the wilderness for a face to face confrontation with the devil...

...The will of God led Jesus first to the cross… then… to the Resurrection…

Samson's parents "did not realize the LORD was at work in this." Even though the Lord was in it… this woman drove Samson nuts… created issues for him his whole life. If today, like Samson, you walked into something that you believed was the will of God… and now it's making you crazy… Hey, just because it's crazy… just because it's difficult… just because it's hard… that may be the surest sign that it is God's will for your life right now. Your only job is to walk through it with Jesus… to walk through it like Jesus… to walk through it for Jesus… And then one day, what doesn't make sense today will make sense tomorrow… as you find your name, like Samson's name, in the Hall of Faith which says…

By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions."

- Hebrews 11:33

Pastor Harry

‍