Battles Averted
Battles Averted
Judges 15:20
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Incredible, isn’t it, that the most meaningful and successful portion of Samson’s public ministry is a season we know nothing of? To think that this generational strong man stood for twenty years like a donkey in Isreal’s countryside, a buffer against the lions and wolves who lurked in the shadows of surrounding forests and salivated over the thought of devouring God’s people—examining every angle of the terrain for an opportunity to catch the flock off guard and seize back the ground they’d given up, but they couldn’t get past him. As long as he stood in the midst of the sheep, they didn’t dare enter. Yet, I don’t think Samson had to stand there snorting and kicking up his heels and braying menacingly in their direction to ward them off. Oh no—the memory of what he’d done to a thousand of their best fighters was buffer enough. So, picture the devils here, friend, lurking in the shadows day after day, week after week, month after month, year by year, watching and waiting and plotting and drooling and craving and prowling, but not succeeding. They can roar at God’s children all they like, and bare their teeth, and flash their claws, and howl in unison, and pack together, and stand in formation; but they can’t do any damage from the woods.
Friend, so much of the life of faith isn’t measured by the good we do but by the evils we prevent. A godly parent will save kids from a world of hurt, and a godly spouse will prevent marital discord, and a faithful missionary, even if he only reaches a handful of converts, will stand as a beacon of light where only darkness reigned, pushing hell’s legions into the shadows to regroup. Just think of it: even if Samson hung up that donkey’s jawbone above his living room mantle after that decisive victory and hasn’t had to use it since, even if his role as judge now seems fairly uneventful and more like a desk job than a field operation, it’s a great success. Because holding devils back is as good as beating them down.
Friend, don’t measure your spiritual success today based on the number of jawbones you’ve got hanging above your mantle. That’s only half the story.