"Walked On By" - Too

 "Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (John 8:59 KJV) 

  "Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the LORD had left him." (Judges 16:20 NLT)

 Matthew Henry adds this little twist, showing how Christ left them, yet they did not miss Him or feel as though He had departed. Just so happens, this morning my prayer time was totally off, and my mind was filled with all sorts of distractions; almost as if I had lost my Helper, and stuck praying on my own. Then I was prompted to read the end of Matthew Henry's commentary, and it all made perfect sense. 

 If we do not wait upon the Lord, then He will let us try and do things on our own. Surprisingly, we will probably, most likely, not even miss Him! That is until we have made such a wreak of things, that we have nothing left to do, but to cry out for help. I really hope and pray that I never end up in that situation; but I feel as though I already have, time and time again. 

 And then I think about something that breaks my heart, there are 80 verses in the Bible that say: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." I can only imagine He is always right there, waiting, watching, willing to reach out and grab hold of me, if I would just cry out for His hand!

 The real problem here, was not that these Jews missed Him, because they really never had Him to begin with! Samson knew right away that the LORD was no longer his strength, just as soon as he had tried to break free and realized that he couldn't. 

 I am reminded about that little book, "My Heart, Christ's Home," where the author tells how Jesus was always there, sitting in that chair by the fire, and some mornings he walked on by, knowingly avoiding any conversation. If not for this, there go I...

"Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without knowing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." So we can say with confidence, "The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?"" (Hebrews 13:1-6 NLT)