PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Conviction ): I know You know all, Father, but I must confess that I have been unfaithful, disobedient, and inconsistent in my faith. I have not been doing a true quiet time with journaling with You for over a week and even before that I was not being consistent. I’ve failed many days in getting into Your word and I am ashamed of this. I can come up with many excuses, but in the end both You and I know they are just excuses. Help me to get back on track in my spiritual journey, Father. You have blessed my family and I so much and I just want to honor You in any way I can to give at least some return to You on those blessings, Father.
PROMISE ( Judges 15:18-19 ): I see a promise coming to fruition in these verses. Samson was deemed by an Angel of Yours to be destined to do great things. Although kind of in a rude manner, he reached out to You when he was exhausted and thirsty. Regardless of the words he chose to speak to You with, You still provided based on his needs in the moment water for replenishment and rejuvenation. You continued to provide for him so that he could accomplish what he was destined to do for Your kingdom. You are faithful to Your promises and will always provide us with our needs to accomplish the things we are destined for.
ATTITUDE ( Judges 15:18 ): Samson’s attitude in this one verse is something I need to work on in my own spiritual journey. His first attitude was humility. He showed he was not the receiver of this victory but You were and that You used him as Your servant to accomplish the tasks. He in no way put any of this on him, but pointed everything back to You. That is amazing and I need to work on doing that far more often in my own life. His second attitude that I also need to work on is that he chose to go to You for his needs instead of relying on himself. He was exhausted and thirsty, so he went to You for his needs and You provided! Help me to embrace both an attitude of humility and an attitude of trust and dependence on You for my needs, Father. I should not be trying to do this life nor my spiritual journey on my own, yet I often find myself going back to my old ways of self-dependence. Continue to remind me that You are always there for me, Father, as I oftentimes forget.
COMMAND ( Judges 15:18 ): It’s amazing how much insight I can gain in my spiritual journey from a single verse. In this verse, I also see a command from You. Samson is doing these great things and winning so many battles over a large number of adversaries. What does he call himself after this latest one, though? He calls himself “Your servant” and gives the victory fully over to You, not himself. The command today is to not only live in humility, remembering that all of the victories in this life are Yours, but to also remember that as I live this life on this earth, I am Your servant. My identity is in You, not whatever this life, the enemy, or even I want to define as my identity. Help me to be a better servant, Father.
EXAMPLE ( Judges 15:18 ): Again, this verse is speaking loudly to me today, so I guess I will continue on with journaling about it. In this verse, Samson teaches that all of our victories in this life should be attributed to You. Additionally, he teaches that even through those victories, we should still be dependent on You and lean on You for our needs to attain even more for Your kingdom. Samson shows not only his obedience and trust in You, but also his full dependence and commitment to You through this verse. I know I’m not where I need to be, but I do ask that You help me to fully understand and embrace an attitude similar to Samson’s, Father, if that’s what You wish of me.
*DAILY NOTE: Thank You for the conviction today and in helping me to get back into Your word. Although I have been struggling in my quiet times and spiritual journey as of late, You have never left my side nor faltered to support me. Thank You for always being there for me, Father, especially in those times where I am not being the man of God You expect of me. Help me to stay on track in my spiritual journey as well as continue on in the daily rejuvenation and restoration daily quiet times with You provide.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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