Reason #52
Dedication - to devote (oneself, one's time, etc) wholly to a special purpose or cause; commit wholeheartedly or unreservedly, to set apart and consecrate. (definitions taken from dictionary.com)
Don't we admire people who are dedicated? We are a culture who attempts to dedicate ourselves to numerous things and it seems as if our dedication gives out so quickly and easily. At the first sign of difficulty, we give up. For example, we try to be dedicated when it comes to working out and eating healthy. Maybe we do a really good job of being health conscious for a few days, but we see a piece of chocolate cake and we decide that we deserve that little taste of goodness. Who doesn't, right? We deserve those "cheat days" don't we? After all, we tell ourselves that it would be near impossible to stay on the diet if we didn't allow ourselves a little room to slide. (By the way, I, myself am eating a cookie as I write this very post...)
The same goes for working out. We hit the gym everyday for a week and then we wake up and can barely get out of bed. Our bodies are sore, and after a long day at work, the couch looks so much more comfortable than the treadmill. But don't we admire those fitness gurus who are dedicated to running a mile everyday? Of course, we deserve that little "break" throughout the week because somewhere we read that we need to give our muscles a rest. (By the way, I opted to watch a 2 hour show tonight rather than going to the gym..)
I use these examples because I think every human being has faced either one or both of these. I love sugar and I love relaxing. I admire those people who are dedicated to eating well and working out. I can come up with really great reasons as to why I am not fully dedicated to these two things as I should be and feel completely justified. But oh, how the little guilt monster attacks me when I get 'Fitness' magazine each month and I realize what I could be if only I were dedicated. The only difference between me and the toned girl on the cover is dedication.
As I thought about dedication today, I was reminded of Samson. Talk about a fit guy, huh? The nice thing about his strength is that it was truly God-given, not gym-made. Samson also had a special diet to follow as well as very specific command to never cut his hair. Samson was to be "dedicated to God from the womb." (Judges 13:5) Before he was born, the Israelites were captured by the Philistines. I am not going to go into a full recap of Sampon's life, but I want to shed light on a few things.
Well time passes and Sampson finds himself a new woman, Delilah. Sampson let Delilah in on some significant information. The secret was out. His strength was in his hair. Delilah had his head shaved, which completely violated part of the dedication terms. So his strength left his body and he was taken over by the Philistines. He was tortured, thrown in prison and eventually taken to the Philistine's temple to entertain them. Little did they realize, his hair had started to grow again. And so Sampson stood between the pillars of the temple, he asked the Lord to give him the strength to bring the temple down, and God granted his request.
So you see, God is a God of dedication. He is a God who doesn't have "cheat days" and doesn't take "breaks," but he honors his commitments. And the awesome thing is that God also understands we are mere humans. Should that be a reason to break our dedication to him? Absolutely not, but we see in Sampson's situation that God will redeem those who are dedicated to him. Look at what he did with Sampson even though Sampson broke his dedication to God, and just imagine what he could have done with Sampson had he NOT broken his dedication. I don't know about you, but I sure find comfort in knowing that God's will isn't contingent on my actions but will prevail regardless. We will always pay a price for a lack of dedication, but that doesn't stop God from using us to bring glory to his name anyway!
Today, I saw a glimpse of how God really blesses our efforts when we dedicate them to him. It's difficult to be dedicated. We have to give up our time, our energy, our desires, and our own selfish will to be dedicated but oh, how he can do great things when we are fully dedicated... much more than we could ever do on our own! Lord, may my dedication to you be "wholeheartedly and unreservedly."
#52 - Because he is fully dedicated!
“LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way." - 1 Kings 8:23
Don't we admire people who are dedicated? We are a culture who attempts to dedicate ourselves to numerous things and it seems as if our dedication gives out so quickly and easily. At the first sign of difficulty, we give up. For example, we try to be dedicated when it comes to working out and eating healthy. Maybe we do a really good job of being health conscious for a few days, but we see a piece of chocolate cake and we decide that we deserve that little taste of goodness. Who doesn't, right? We deserve those "cheat days" don't we? After all, we tell ourselves that it would be near impossible to stay on the diet if we didn't allow ourselves a little room to slide. (By the way, I, myself am eating a cookie as I write this very post...)
The same goes for working out. We hit the gym everyday for a week and then we wake up and can barely get out of bed. Our bodies are sore, and after a long day at work, the couch looks so much more comfortable than the treadmill. But don't we admire those fitness gurus who are dedicated to running a mile everyday? Of course, we deserve that little "break" throughout the week because somewhere we read that we need to give our muscles a rest. (By the way, I opted to watch a 2 hour show tonight rather than going to the gym..)
I use these examples because I think every human being has faced either one or both of these. I love sugar and I love relaxing. I admire those people who are dedicated to eating well and working out. I can come up with really great reasons as to why I am not fully dedicated to these two things as I should be and feel completely justified. But oh, how the little guilt monster attacks me when I get 'Fitness' magazine each month and I realize what I could be if only I were dedicated. The only difference between me and the toned girl on the cover is dedication.
As I thought about dedication today, I was reminded of Samson. Talk about a fit guy, huh? The nice thing about his strength is that it was truly God-given, not gym-made. Samson also had a special diet to follow as well as very specific command to never cut his hair. Samson was to be "dedicated to God from the womb." (Judges 13:5) Before he was born, the Israelites were captured by the Philistines. I am not going to go into a full recap of Sampon's life, but I want to shed light on a few things.
- Sampson decided to marry a Philistine despite what his parents advised. (Should have listened to mom and dad...)
- On the way to meet his desired wife, his tore apart a lion with his bear hands. When he went back to marry this woman, he stopped by the lion's carcass, saw there were bees inside, took some of the honey to eat, and gave some to his parents as well. (A "cheat day" on his diet...)
- Sampson was quick to give his secrets away.
Well time passes and Sampson finds himself a new woman, Delilah. Sampson let Delilah in on some significant information. The secret was out. His strength was in his hair. Delilah had his head shaved, which completely violated part of the dedication terms. So his strength left his body and he was taken over by the Philistines. He was tortured, thrown in prison and eventually taken to the Philistine's temple to entertain them. Little did they realize, his hair had started to grow again. And so Sampson stood between the pillars of the temple, he asked the Lord to give him the strength to bring the temple down, and God granted his request.
So you see, God is a God of dedication. He is a God who doesn't have "cheat days" and doesn't take "breaks," but he honors his commitments. And the awesome thing is that God also understands we are mere humans. Should that be a reason to break our dedication to him? Absolutely not, but we see in Sampson's situation that God will redeem those who are dedicated to him. Look at what he did with Sampson even though Sampson broke his dedication to God, and just imagine what he could have done with Sampson had he NOT broken his dedication. I don't know about you, but I sure find comfort in knowing that God's will isn't contingent on my actions but will prevail regardless. We will always pay a price for a lack of dedication, but that doesn't stop God from using us to bring glory to his name anyway!
Today, I saw a glimpse of how God really blesses our efforts when we dedicate them to him. It's difficult to be dedicated. We have to give up our time, our energy, our desires, and our own selfish will to be dedicated but oh, how he can do great things when we are fully dedicated... much more than we could ever do on our own! Lord, may my dedication to you be "wholeheartedly and unreservedly."
#52 - Because he is fully dedicated!
“LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way." - 1 Kings 8:23