Morning By Morning #190

Tell me the secret of your great strength.

Judges 16:6

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

In light of this verse, let’s consider where the secret of our faith’s strength lies. It lies in the food our faith feeds on, for true faith nourishes itself on God’s promises. Each of His promises is an emanation of divine grace—the overflow of the generous heart of God. Faith says, “If not for His love and grace, my God could never have given this promise. Therefore it is absolutely certain His Word will be fulfilled.” Then faith thinks of Who gave the promise, focusing not as much on the greatness of the promise but on the greatness of Who authored it.

Faith remembers the author is “God, who does not lie” (Titus 1:2)—God omnipotent and unchanging. Thus, faith concludes the promise must be fulfilled and acts on this firm conviction. Faith remembers why the promise was given in the first place—namely, for God’s glory—and is perfectly sure God’s glory is safe, for He will never stain His own shield of character or tarnish the luster of His own kingly crown. His promise must and will stand.

Next, faith considers the amazing work of Christ as clear proof of the Father’s intention to fulfill His Word. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). Faith also looks at past battles that have given it strength and past victories that have given it courage. Faith recalls that God has never failed even one of His children, calling to mind past dangers when deliverance came. Faith remembers those times of great need when strength was found and firmly declares, “I will never be led to think God can change and forsake His servant. The Lord has been my help in times past, and He will help me now.”

Therefore, true faith views each promise in its connection to the Promise-giver. As a result it can say with assurance, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Ps. 23:6).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Our text verse today is taken from the story of Samson and Delilah. Many of us have known this story since childhood, but there is nevertheless often a misunderstanding as to the source of Samson’s strength. His strength came not from the length of his hair but from what his hair represented. It was the symbol of his “vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite” (Num. 6:2). Thus, his strength came from the Lord as a result of his obedience to his vow.

Samson’s encounter with Delilah was not the beginning of his downfall. It began when he “went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute” (Judg. 16:1) and defiled himself with her. Living with the enemy led to his relationship with Delilah, and this continual breaking of his vow ultimately led to the visible sign of violating his vow—cutting off his hair.

In the same way, the essence of what Spurgeon says today is that our faith’s strength comes from trusting in and being obedient to the promises of God. The Lord will not—in fact, cannot—release His power through us when we are disobedient to Him.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD…says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’“ (Isa. 30:15).