May 3

Today's Reading: Judges 14:1-20

This chapter reveals the tension in Samson's life. On one hand, he seeks only to satisfy his own desires, even when that violates God's commands. So he seeks a wife from among the Philistines saying "she is right in my eyes", even though God had commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with the surrounding nations.

But in spite of that, God still chooses to use Samson to accomplish His purposes. So twice in this chapter we read that the Spirit of the Lord "rushed upon" Samson, empowering Samson to kill a lion with his bare hands and to kill thirty Philistines. We see that the Holy Spirit operated differently in Old Testament times than He does today. Now, He dwells permanently in the life of every disciple of Christ, but in the Old Testament He would come upon a person for a period of time in order to enable that person to accomplish a specific task. And once the task was complete, the Holy Spirit would leave.

Take some time today to thank God for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.