When Strong Men Are Weak

Romans 7:18-20, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.----------One of the things many of us share in common is our focus on our own strength and ability to accomplish things that should be turned over to God. We love to stop and count successes like jewels in a crown. But at the end of the day, those accomplishments aren't done without God's providence and provision for our lives.----------Samson collected such "trophies" for himself; all the while he forgot the source of his great strength was from the Father. In the end, he revealed his inner weakness by not acknowledging his reliance on God and using his strength for shallow, selfish pursuits.----------Judges, perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, shows us the failure of humanity to live out God's call on our lives. The book's final words sum up the picture: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)