Trust that God has a plan!
I wish that weren’t so, but every time I sin, I know it was because I wanted to and because God allowed me to.
May 1
His father and mother didn’t realize the LORD was at work in this, creating an opportunity to disrupt the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.
Judges 14:4
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Trust that God has a plan!
There are some accounts in the Bible that can get you wondering what is going on. Here we have Sampson, one of the judges of the nation of Israel acting in a very selfish, self-centered manner that doesn’t seem to bring any glory to God. Sampson noticed a Philistine woman that he decides he wants to marry. We don’t have a description of her, but you can imagine that she was a very beautiful woman.
Sampson’s father and mother object to his choice of a wife. This decision is contrary to God’s will. God told the Hebrews not to intermarry with the nations around them. The reason had nothing to do with maintaining genetic purity but in maintaining spiritual purity. God knew that if they married people of other nations, they would soon worship the gods of those nations. Repeatedly the Hebrews ignored this command and ended up worshipping other gods because of the influence of these mixed marriages.
Sampson’s parents are upset about this because they know God is not going to be pleased with their son. Our verse tells us that this was all a part of God’s plan. This is where some people object and ask how such sinful behavior can be a part of God’s plan. Their assumption is that God approves of the sin. As you read today’s verse you might even think that the sin was God’s idea. That is blasphemy; God never sins, nor does He ever encourage anyone else to sin.
God does not plan sin, but His plan accounts for the sins of His people. God knew that Sampson was going to be attracted to this Philistine woman. God allowed Sampson to follow his sinful desires, just like He allows each of us to follow our sinful desires. I wish that weren’t so, but every time I sin, I know it was because I wanted to and because God allowed me to. God hates sin because of what it does to us and because of what it does to our relationship with Him.
God’s plan included making something good out of Sampson’s sin. His plan was to disrupt the Philistines and one of the ways that he was going to do that was through this sinful relationship between Sampson and this Philistine woman. Sampson’s parents couldn’t see that. If this Scripture didn’t tell us that, we wouldn’t know it either.
As a parent, I can see the choices and decisions that my children make through the filter of God’s Word and my own experience and wisdom. There are times when my children make decisions and choices that I know are contrary to the will of God. It can be a very helpless and depressing thing to see your children or others you care about make choices that you know are going to cost them something later. What we don’t have is the luxury of seeing God’s plan for them or the situation. Romans tells us that God will make good out of everything; even the sins of our children. This brings me comfort when I find myself concerned about the choices of my children or others. Sometimes, we simply need to trust that God has a plan. Jesus, help us to rest in You.
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