Conspire

This word implies secrecy and illegal activity and agreement between two or more people. I’m not sure that what I choose to do myself would be considered a conspiracy.

Samson had been wreaking havoc on the Philistines. He was supernaturally strong and they couldn’t stop him. When he falls in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah, they knew that had to try. Each leader offered her 13 Kilograms of silver in exchange for her delivering Samson to her. She starts right away to ask him the secret of his strength, so he tells her some tall tale about tying him up with seven fresh bowstrings. She actually tried it (with soldiers waiting secretly) and it didn’t work. She tries twice more and has two more false alarms. After pestering Samson day in and day out, he finally comes clean. Check this out…

17 So he told her everything. ‘No razor has ever been used on my head,’ he said, ‘because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.’

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, ‘Come back once more; he has told me everything.’ So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

20 Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’

He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him. (Judges 16:17-20 NIV)

I do believe that if Samson had been walking with the Lord, he’d had a heads up about this conspiracy. I see him living in his flesh instead of living out of a heart deeply devoted to the Lord. These people showed up with the money in hand. It’s obvious that Delilah never loved him or cared for him – it was about the money. I’m not even sure she was patriotic to the Philistine cause or country.

Conspiracies are so deceitful. I believe the Lord can expose conspiracies through the prompting of His Spirit. I believe that the Lord can open my eyes to things that I wouldn’t notice any other way. This usually money or power involved in a conspiracy. Both of these ingredients can be destructive on their own. When couched in conspiracy, they can be incredibly destructive.

I want all my cards on the table. I want to deal honestly and openly with others. I don’t want there to be even a tiny hint of conspiracy. I want to always live and work with integrity as the bedrock of each relationship that I have. What you see is what you get. I believe that living out of a heart devoted to the Lord will direct my path the way He would have me live every day.

Pressing On!

Dwayne