I Want What I Want & I Want it NOW!


Judges 14:1-4
1Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” 4 His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

“I want what I want and I want it now!” I Googled that phrase this morning and dozens of angry faces appeared on the screen. That attitude of serving the selfish inward desires of the heart rides through the human heart like a stampeding horse.

Our first story of Samson shows us a man who has been catered to by his parents and as an adult he still lives like a spoiled adolescent who stomps their foot and demands to have their wishes fulfilled. This request for “a daughter of the Philistines” is outside of the will of God for His people and his parents know that. Their hearts are broken by this request. But Samson doesn’t care about their feelings. He wants what he wants. The text is also clear about the fact that while God is not pleased with this demand, He is also able to use it. Samson’s roll as judge in Israel will mean that he metes out the judgments of God upon the Philistines. Samson’s impulsive and reckless need for this foreign woman can be used in the hands of our all-powerful God.

It might be important here to point out that while God can (and does) use this impulse against Israel’s enemies that does not mean He condones the sin. It was wrong for Samson to become involved with a Philistine woman. God had forbidden that. But God doesn’t waste opportunity and Samson’s proclivities toward women who are not of God will be used repeatedly. This is only the first inappropriate woman Samson will entertain throughout his life.

I wonder how many of my own sinful demands or actions God has used in the past. I have most certainly given Him many to choose from and I can only pray He has taken advantage of them. Instead, I might rather be a person who asks Him first or holds those demands up to Him, allowing Him to refine them or destroy them; His choice! That again requires that I am in constant connection to Him and seeking His face on a moment by moment basis. Honestly, for me life goes by so quickly that often fail to take His will and ways into consideration. Maintaining that constant connection to Him starts with my first conscience thoughts in the morning. If I am distracted early in the day, that seems to be the tone all day. Clearly, I have some interior work to do. Walking with God takes discipline and I ask God for greater measure of that discipline every day.

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