On who's side are you leaning on..?

The kernel thought for this entry is from the book"Be a people person - By John C.Maxwell".I've added a few modifications and some emphasis, the colored lines are those picked verbatim from the book.

Is there a challenge set before you to face ?
Is trouble holding you hostage ?
Is there a huge army waiting to wage a war against you ?
Are you endeavoring with all your might for a breakthrough ?

You are God's anointed and you operate in the strength and power of God.You have seen God's hands work miraculous wonders through you and in you, and when you remind yourself of your past victories, you begin to believe more stronger that you'll see success this time as well.

A great confidence booster is a personal victory list of past successes and achievements. This is a biblical concept which we can learn from two Bible characters who practiced this: Samson and David.

Both of them were very successful in the things that they were doing.Samson defeated the Philistines in all his encounters and David proved himself to be a brave shepherd.

But note what their success did to them.

In Judges 16:20 we read: "And she[Delilah] said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!'And he awoke from his sleep and said,'I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.'But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.'

Now let's read about David in 1 Samuel 17:37: "And David said,'The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' And Saul said to David, 'Go, and may the Lord be with you."

The strong similarities between these two men were that

• They were both chosen, ordained and anointed by God.
• They both were leaders of Israel at a time when Israel was battling against the Philistines.

But it was something about what their successes did to them that made Samson a loser and David a victorious king.

Samson wanted to please himself, he used the resources given by God to fulfill his lust and his own desires.

When a new challenge was set before him , he was so alienated from God that he was on the lap of Delilah. He lived life in the flesh, depending on his own strength, and the evidence of his past successes when he was going into battle.He felt no need to rely upon God and therefore chose the road to ultimate defeat.

His desire was not to please God with what was given to him rather to use it for his own benefit.

Unlike Samson, David desired to please God.When the challenge to defeat Goliath was set before him, he proclaimed his victory list by giving God the glory.He knew that, left to his own resources, he was already defeated.So he called upon the Lord and went to battle with divine help.The rest is history.

For David, this episode with Goliath was the beginning of his leadership.It was the incident that brought him to a position where God could greatly use him.

We need to be victorious in everything we do and every battle we face.That's God's desire too. God gives us a few victories to see what we are doing with it.If we are using every promotion, every new blessing and every level up for His honor. He will give us a victory that will put us in a position where He can use us mightily and honor us greatly.

But if we're going to use your successes on yourself, we'll have to live a long mediocre life satisfying our ego by talking about our past.

Its time we ask ourselves,

What have we done with our past successes ?

Have our successes made us so self seeking that we are now resting on Delilah's lap ?

Do we remember that we see success only by His strength, and no one is self-made ?

How do we chose to face the challenge set before us today ?

Have we realized our inadequacy ?

Let us move forward, face the challenge, fight the battle for His glory by relying on His strength. Then we'll always be on the winning side.