After two weeks of nights where I averaged about 3½ hours of sleep, I was getting desperate. I needed to sleep, and to sleep well. How happy I was when my husband and boys prayed over me one night. Immediately afterwards, I felt impressed to make myself a high protein snack complete with poppy seeds. I figured this was from God, and I ended up sleeping 6½ hours. Wow!
As I went through the day, God got the praise. After all, He put the idea of the protein snack and poppy seeds in my mind. Somehow, however, I couldn’t fathom the idea of a simple miracle…
Needless to say, the next time I went to bed, I had the same high protein snack with poppy seeds. My older son also prayed for me, but I had convinced myself that it had been the snack that had helped me to sleep well. Anyone surprised that I only slept about 3 hours that night?
I don’t know about you, but this is so typical for me. When I finally get what I’ve been praying for, I do give God some of the praise, at least for a while. But after a while, it becomes ordinary almost–ordinary!
Samson had this problem. He was blessed with being the world’s strongest man. I know that this term is not found in the Bible, but the facts speak clearly: Strong me of today cannot lift two entire city gates and their gateposts, and then transport them on their shoulders to the crest of a distant mountain (See Judges 16:3)!
Of course Samson’s strength was not of human origin. His parents had been told since before his conception that he was to be raised a “Nazirite”, and his hair was never to be cut: “And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb…” (Judges 13:5). But did Samson really look to God as the source of his strength?
Judges 16 tells the sad story of how Samson’s girlfriend, Delilah, begged him to know the source of his strength. Three times Samson lied to her, and each time, Delilah had the enemy lying in wait to capture Samson as soon as his strength was broken. Why is it that Samson, after these three experiences that made her impure intentions very pure, went ahead and told her the truth? (See Judges 16:17).
The reason “why” is best answered in vs. 20: “So he awoke from his sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!’ But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.” (Judges 16:20).
Samson was not afraid to tell Delilah his secret because he no longer believed that God was the source of his strength. He believed he could deliver himself!
What can we do to “safeguard” ourselves from forgetting the source of our answered prayers?
We can learn from Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary.
Elizabeth had been barren her entire life. No doubt she had prayed fervently that God would give her a child, but by this time, she was past the time when women can conceive. Notice, however, what Elizabeth did as soon as she became pregnant: “Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months…” (Luke 1:24)
The Bible only gives one reason that she hid herself: “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on [me,] to take away my reproach among people.” (Luke 1:24-25). Elizabeth recognized the hand of God on her life, and in hiding herself, she separated herself from everything that could possibly distract her. She had 100% time to praise God, to assure herself beyond a doubt that this was a miracle of God and no other source.
Perhaps Samson could have learned some important lessons from Elizabeth. Perhaps, had he not become so “comfortable” with his strength that he forgot it was from God, perhaps he would have retained his eyes (See Judges 16:21-30).
And perhaps I, too, could learn some lessons from Elizabeth. Perhaps if I had spent some quiet time praising God for the 6½ hours of sleep, I would have given God the complete praise instead of putting it on the protein drink with poppy seeds.
So what should we do in the face of a miracle?
We need to follow Elizabeth’s example and spend some quiet, alone time with God, giving Him the praise and the glory, and we need to never, ever try and attribute the miracle to any other source but God.
Join us next Saturday to see how this excellent lesson helped me with something more important than temporary sleep problems…
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “In the Face of a Miracle” mini-series, please click here.)