"So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol."
Even though we are entering winter, we all know what happens in the spring. That’s when the seeds that were planted the previous fall produce beautiful flowers. When a seed warms up and receives nutrients, it breaks through the ground and continues to grow until it makes a flower bud, blooms into a flower, and eventually spreads its seeds. If a little plant stops receiving nutrients and stops growing as soon as it breaks through the ground, it does not just stay a little stub for the rest of the summer—it will die. If we, as new Christians, stop feeding on the Word, we won’t just stay immature, we will die. Instead, we have to let the Holy Spirit fill us with spiritual food, and continue to grow us so that we mature and spread the Word to others.
In Judges 13, we learn the story of the birth of Samson. Manoah was told by his wife that a man told her that they would bear a son. He prayed and asked God to send the man again to give more details because his wife was barren. When the man came back, Manoah did not recognize him as an angel. He kept asking about what his child would accomplish as an adult, but the angel was more focused on the baby’s health and protection as it grew in the womb. It was costly to God because He had to send His angel twice to explain it, and Manoah still didn’t understand. It wasn’t until Manoah made a burnt offering, and God accepted it with a flame that went to heaven, that he realized it was an Angel of God. He was then in awe that he had seen God and was afraid they would die until his wife assured him they would not, since God accepted the offering and told them they would soon have a child. When Manoah’s son was born, they named him Samson, which means "sunshine." Let us remember in this Advent season that while spring is months away, it is time for us to grow now. We need to recognize God’s voice, and let the sunshine of the Holy Spirit fill us and grow us.
~ Kimberly Frantz
