And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. —Judges 16:20
When God gives you a particular strength, gift, or talent, guard against it becoming a weakness to you. You can reach the point where you say, “I can do this by myself. I don’t need God.”
Nebuchadnezzar made that statement and lost his kingdom (Daniel 4:28-37). Sometimes we lose our direction. We think we can do what God has called us to do without His anointing and His presence. Until we get out of the way, He can do nothing in us or through us. The power to accomplish great things for God only comes through His presence and anointing.
When Samson heard Delilah say, “Get up Samson, the Philistines are upon you,” he thought, I’ll just get up and shake myself as other times (cf. Judges 16). I believe what follows is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. It reveals that the Spirit of God had departed from him-.-.-.-and he didn’t even know it.
Only when we recognize our weakness can we recognize God’s strength. Acknowledge the One who has made His overcoming power and wisdom available to you.
Lord, when I lose my way, bring me quickly back
to my senses. Help me to know immediately
when I have strayed from Your straight
and narrow path. Help me not to look
to the right or the left but to
fix my eyes always
on You. Amen.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
