When I saw the kitchen of a new home, it was beautiful with its brand new stainless steel appliances. The cabinets were nicely done in off white paint. With all the beauty, the best aspect laid beneath my feet. Although the floor wasn’t real hardwood, the browns and grays were impeccable. The designer captured the veining of a tree in every piece. The floor fit perfectly in the quaint kitchen. However, we felt subtle changes in the floor. Is that a hump? Did I feel a bubble? Surely not. Over time, I could no longer ignore that something was wrong beneath the surface. How often do we sense the subtlety of change but ignore what’s beneath the surface?
The Story: Judges 16:4-22
In Judges 16:4-22, Samson fell in love with Delilah. Unbeknownst to Samson, the Philistines commissioned Delilah to find the source of Samson’s strength. One day, Samson and Delilah spent time together and she inquired about the source of his strength. He told her that she needed to tie him up with new braided bowstrings to weaken him. Although she followed his instructions, he easily broke the restraints after she pretended the Philistines came to attack him. She again asked him the source of his strength. This time he told her that new ropes would diminish his strength. After she restrained him as instructed, he again broke loose. On another occasion, she repeated her inquiry. This time he told her that she needed to braid his hair with a loom. As before, he broke loose after her ruse with the Philistine call.
Because of his continuous deception, Delilah pestered Samson daily to wear down his resistance and uncover the truth. Samson was tired of her questions and told her that his strength came from his hair. If his hair was cut, he would become like every other person. So she had someone shave his head, which enabled the Philistines to effectively capture him.
The Lesson
From this passage, we see that Samson focused on his love for Delilah. He refused to look beneath the surface of who she was. He allowed his eyes to remain on his desires while closing them to the truth. Unfortunately, he refused to protect his anointing despite what she displayed. What laid beneath the surface removed the anointing from his life.
We see this on a regular basis in our society. There’s a tv show called “Fatal Attraction” where people lose their lives because they refuse to see what’s beneath the surface of the people they’re dating. Our refusal to uncover what lies below is detrimental to our lives.
So what do we do?
- Seek God in prayer. Our communication with God alerts us to things that our eyes can’t see.
- Accept that our heart isn’t trustworthy. We can’t follow our heart because it can blind us to the truth. Therefore, we seek God in order to move in alignment with what He shows us.
- Don’t be afraid to look. Hiding from what’s beneath the surface doesn’t stop it from existing. For instance, I discovered that the bulging floor was the result of a leak in the water heater. By looking, someone can fix the problem. The same is true for everything else. Uncover and address it.
