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 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13 (NIV)

Recently, I was sitting at home in Lynchburg, VA, while my youngest sister was sitting in the ER at a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In spite of our physical location, we were together for a good deal of time – through FaceTime – and I got to keep my sister company while she awaited medical care for a deep cut on her pinky finger. I was determined to keep my sister’s mind off of the pain and throbbing of the wound.  I was very successful at derailing her thoughts from it and into something totally non-related and without any basis at all, which she was only aware of when I finally finished and told her that it was just me talking. Oh, the joys of sisterhood! In spite of all the years we’ve put on between childhood and the stage of life we are in now, I can still get her with my stories! My point though, is that I got my goal accomplished, which was to have her thinking of anything but her hurt finger.

Sometimes, though, people use these tactics of thought-derailing in order to do evil. Remember Samson, who was the miracle baby to a sterile mother? He was a promise from the Lord, to help make things right for the Israelites after they had been in bondage by the Philistines for forty long years (Judges 13). God had required that the boy be a Nazarite – set apart to God – and his hair should never be cut. Then, the boy grew and became a strong warrior. Evidently, he also had some ounces of naiveté in his blood, because he got involved with two Philistine women, and both women betrayed him to protect their people – the enemy. Samson was not wise in his choices and defiled God’s command to remain a Nazirite, pure and at His service. And the rest of the story, we all know. Sometimes, flesh gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord, but if we remain in Him, our focus will  be fixed on Him alone.
 

“Lord, thank You for being the guide and light in our path.”
 

For Your Glory

Luska Suzano
TRBC Women’s Lie