DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 31 May 2025: God Can Still Use You
Text: Judges 16:22-31 (KJV)
However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.
23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:
“Our god has delivered into our hands
Samson our enemy!”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said:
“Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy,
The destroyer of our land,
And the one who multiplied our dead.”
25 So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” 27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed.
28 Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.
31 And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
KEY VERSE: (Judges 16:28) And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
One of the most effective strategies of the devil is not just to lure people into disobedience to God, but also to convince them that God will never take them back. He magnifies their offences and makes them seem bigger than the mercy of God. They, therefore, do not see any need to repent and recant their evil ways, to return wholeheartedly and be used by the Lord.
Samson had fallen into this trap after his head was shaved and he was apprehended by the Philistines. They had desperately sought means to know the source of the unusual strength he had used to terrorize and humiliate them. Once Delilah knew that his strength was embedded in his unshaven hair, she quickly cut it, and invited the Philistines to arrest him. Now finally apprehended, Samson’s eyes were gorged out by the Philistines on the false belief that once he could not see, he would not pose any danger to them. Soon, his hair began to grow, and Samson regained his awesome strength and once more, became a lethal weapon in the hand of God.
The jubilant and ecstatic Philistines were ignorant of this development, and therefore, convened a huge gathering to celebrate the capture of Samson, who had become their greatest national nightmare. Right there in the arena, Samson, leaning on a pillar, pleaded with God to remember him, forgive his sins, receive him again, and restore his strength. God graciously granted his request. With his renewed strength, he lifted the pillar and crashed the arena killing all the rulers and thousands of Philistines who were there. They were more in number than all he killed while alive. The victory was so total that his brethren encountered no opposition as they came to retrieve his body for burial in Israel, thus ending his 20-year reign as a judge.
Have you deviated from God? He is merciful and will not hold on to your past sins if only you can come to Him with a penitent heart and sincere plead for forgiveness and restoration. Do not buy Satan’s lie that once you have sinned, you cannot pray to God. He is not willing that any man should perish, but that all who have gone astray will come back in repentance. Neither guilty conscience, the enormity of your sins, nor the length of time you have stayed away from God should be allowed to prevent you from praying for forgiveness. God will forgive all who ask for pardon and cleansing from sin, and once again, use them for His purposes. Do not remain any longer in sin.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: You may be done with God but He is not done with you. Return to Him.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 21-22
Daily Manna 31 May 2025
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