Thought for the Day – Friday 1st May
It’s Friday! Don’t forget to look to the end of the post for some
Friday Fun!!
Let us have a more light-hearted thought today! Here’s a reading from
Judges 16:
After this he fell in love with a
woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the
Philistines came to her and said to her, “Coax him, and find out what makes his
strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in
order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of
silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes your strength so
great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.” Samson said to her, “If they bind me with
seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be
like anyone else.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh
bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. While men were
lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, “The Philistines are upon
you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fibre snaps when it
touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. Then Delilah
said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you
could be bound.” He said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not
been used, then I shall become weak, and be like
anyone else.” So Delilah took
new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon
you, Samson!” (The men lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he snapped
the ropes off his arms like a thread. Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now
you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me how you could be bound.” He said
to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight
with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.” So while he
slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web, and
made them tight with the pin. Then she said to him, “The Philistines are upon
you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom,
and the web. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your
heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me
what makes your strength so great.” Finally, after she had nagged him with her
words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death. So he told her
his whole secret, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head; for I
have been a nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then
my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.” When
Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the
lords of the Philistines, saying, “This time come up, for he has told his whole
secret to me.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought
the money in their hands. She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a
man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken, and
his strength left him. Then she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”
When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will go out as at other times, and
shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. So the
Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza
and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
The story of Samson and Delilah – I think I was drawn to this story today
because every morning when I wash my hair I wonder just when I will next be
able to have it cut! Who knows what we will all look like when we come out of
our isolation – perhaps if it goes on too long we might even be sitting on our
hair – yes even the males among us – well maybe not some of you!!!
Anyway, Samson’s hair which was never cut from birth gave him his
strength – while it was not cut he knew the Lord was with him. That made me
think that during this time when we cannot go to get our hair cut as normal
that perhaps as our hair grows and we recognise the Lord with us that maybe we
daily are growing a little stronger too, and perhaps even wiser in ourselves –
although Samson was strong but not always wise for he had physical strength but
not always moral strength!!
So, my hope for us as our hair grows is that as we ‘conquer’ each day,
as we resolve to get through this time that we are indeed becoming a little
more resilient, stronger in the knowledge of God’s presence, stronger in our
faith and so stronger in ourselves and more able to cope with whatever the
world throws at us and also ready to step into our new future whatever that new
future might be.
Prayer
Loving Lord,
Guide us through these days, increase our awareness of you with us,
strengthen us in our faith and enrich our lives. Be our constant companion as
we build our resilience ready to face our new future with enthusiasm and a
continued sense of your calling on our lives – to love you and our neighbours. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Now for a bit of Friday Fun:
Some of my colleagues who are part of the ‘RevGalBlog’ have a little
Friday ritual on their blog where they put up five questions for each other to
answer – so I thought we might try that on a Friday!
I’ll put up five questions and you can decide how you might answer them
– you can talk it over together if you are with someone at home or perhaps just
write down your answers for sharing later with us!
I am not sure how Facebook works but you may be able to post your
answers there for others to see or maybe post them somehow on the website!
1. If someone were coming to Scotland for the first time what five
things/places would you recommend they see?
2. If you were an animal today what would it be and why?
3. Do you have a favourite pair of socks?
4. What’s your all-time favourite film?
5. If you get grumpy what usually triggers it?
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