Judges 16:19, 20  Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.” (NLT)

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Sad and disappointing are the words in the second half of Judges 16:20: 

But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

Samson the Sun Man, Mr. Mighty Himself, loved him some him. He was Andre the Giant with a mean streak. He was rough and tough and hard to bluff. He loved the honeys and the honey he found in the carcass of the lion he killed. He was a man of mighty appetite. He was Mr. Destructo. No one and nothing dared stand in his way. 

He was so enamored with himself, so wrapped up in his mighty power, that he didn’t realize when the true Mighty Power left him. 

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Samson no longer heard the voice because he had stopped listening. He didn’t notice God’s absence because he did not acknowledge his presence. He walked his own way alone because he had walked away from God’s Way. 

God had powerfully led and used Samson as he intended before he was even conceived. God powerfully abandoned him when he refused to honor God’s purpose for his life. Samson took God for granted. He assumed God approved of all he did. He considered himself above reproof. 

He was not. 

I am not. 

You are not.

But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

The question we must ask ourselves is obvious, isn’t it? If God withdrew himself from us, if he did not direct our steps, give us direction, empower us for his purpose, would we notice? 

Samson could have used what we call The Lord’s Prayer, especially the part that says, “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one,”
‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬). 

Samson was beyond rescue because Samson wandered away from God. God didn’t move. God didn’t remove his purpose for Samson. God didn’t walk away from him. Samson wandered off guided by something other than God’s highest and best. For the first time in his life, and the last, he wandered into a trap he could not escape. 

But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

If God withdrew his presence, would you notice? Would I?

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I will live in conscious awareness of God’s presence and purpose as far as it depends on me.

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Our Father, please deliver me from Samson’s greatest sin. I want to live, move, and experience all of my life in the conscious awareness and full confidence of your presence and purpose. I want to know the blessed assurance of your peace. I want to hear your voice telling me, “This is the way; walk in it.” Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Amen.