Christian Living

WHEN THE LORD HAS DEPARTED

by Hezekiah Fakeye
06/02/16
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One issue that has been a puzzle to me is the issue of the chosen and anointed men of God starting well with God but finishing woefully. This trend has been there for long as I discovered numerous examples of this category of people even in the Bible. The cases of Samson and Saul are prevalent among others. And I will emphasize on them not really because their cases were the most popular, but because I discover they share one thing in common; the presence of God.

Samson was a notable and unique man chosen by God Himself prior to his birth to save His people from the Philistines. A man of exceeding power and strength of which no one matched before and after his existence. How do you describe a man who tore a roaring lion asunder with his hand? Someone who slew thousands of men with jawbone of an ass is not an ordinary man I must say. I mean for an ordinary man to take hold of the gate of a whole city together with the two pillars and pull them up live and direct with all the iron castings, and carry them on his shoulder and proceed to the top of a hill is not ordinary. The strength of this man is just unqualifiable.

But I would like to note that these manifestations of Samson's strength were a reflection and dividend of having the presence of the Almighty God. This fact is so glaring and took little time to be proved.

The influence of the presence of God upon someone's life can never be underestimated. When the Lord is with you, who can stand against you. It is highly expected that you become a victor when the Lord is actually on your side. God has never and will never lose a battle. Time and space will not permit me to list the benefits of having the presence of God upon one's life, but I think Samson enjoyed some.

However, the problem seems to be that men are usually too weak to carry the presence of God. Whenever, we enjoy a little bit of God's presence, then pride comes on board. We begin to feel like "yeah, I have the presence of God with me, I'm unstoppable and untouchable". And by so thinking, we begin to do whatever pleases us without considering what pleases God. We begin to think that probably we are the most holy or perhaps the closest person to God.

The great prophet Elijah was also a victim of this very act. Prior to his time, there has not been a prophet that matched his success. He did things that nobody else has ever done. He called for a drought, which had never happened before. Though there had been droughts, but none was a God-called drought where He used someone as an instrument to begin and end it. In fact, no one had multiplied food, raised someone from the dead, called down fire from heaven, turned an entire nation to God, or outran a chariot in all of history like Elijah did. Having experienced all these great dividends of having God's presence, this little and unnoticed arrogance set in. He began to feel that perhaps God was using him for these great things because he was actually better than his fathers (1King 19:3-4). He taught he was being used by God because he's the only one available. Or perhaps he taught to himself, 'nobody is serving God like me'. Despite the fact that Obadiah told him that there were still a hundred of the Lord's prophets being hid in a cave and fed, Elijah said, I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord...(1 Kings 18:22) and he even repeated it to God (1Kings 19:10). That was pride. He neglected Obadiah's report probably because he taught he was a sinner, or nobody in terms of anointing. This little mess by Elijah actually ended his ministry untimely.

Samson was not too far from this negligible pride. The moment he began to experience the presence of God, he became uncontrollable. Not even his parent could control him. He began to do what pleased him rather than doing what pleased God. Or is there a better way to decode this statement of his, 'get her for me; for she pleases me well' even after his parent had explained to him what God forewarned? He was, like other notable men, carried away by the presence of God, and God departed unnoticed to him. It is always obvious anytime the presence of God descends on someone, but it is always unknown when he departs.

Whenever you start thinking you're the only one serving God or you think you can do whatever pleases you, you can just write "Icabord" over your head. The glory has departed!

God left Samson and he was even careless to notice probably because he has been in the business of jumping from one lady to the other and God decided to keep mute. See, the silence of God over your sins does not necessarily mean He approves them. You have been told specifically that God has chosen you to be a vessel in His hand, but you are out there going against His will, and because you've been successful so far, you think all is well. I would advise you come back to your senses now and go back to His will before nemesis catch up with you.

Samson would go into sin, come out and still do exploit. Thus it has always been until one faithful day.

Judges 16:20;

And she said, The Philistines are upon you Samson! And he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free". And he did not know that the Lord had left him.

The woman she loved so much. The sin that pleased him rather than God challenged him to face his incipient assignment after shaving off his strength and glory. Remember he was meant to deliver his people from the Philistines. He was meant to be a saviour to his people.

Look at Samson's response, he said, "I will go out as at other times", but unfortunately for him that time was not as other times. The story changed! God cannot be silent forever on sin.

Perhaps you have also been doing exploit for God despite your swimming in sin., and all you're saying is that it doesn't matter; God still moves when I sing; wonders still happen when i pray after all. You had premarital sex before you went for that evangelism and many people still got saved, so you think God is still with you. It's just a grace of repentance you are enjoying and i hope you will not allow it to elapse before you wake up from your sleep. You know right there in your heart that your ways are not just right with God, but you are just consoling yourself with the statements; but I still speak in tongues, the sick still get healing when I pray, people's heart still turn to God when you preach; I tell you to wake up now before your Philistines come upon you because one day, definitely, will not be like other times.

Samson said I will go out like other times but he did not know that the Lord had departed. What a tragedy! Any life that suffers the departure of God will surely end in tragedy except for cases where such people repent. He wanted to do like other times but he couldn't. Have you not notice this impossibility in your life too? It was back then that you used to pray and fire will fall, not now. It's now a history that you sing and the presence of God is felt in the congregation. It's now a thing of the past that your messages really cause genuine repentance and change of heart. I tell you, you need to check now; it could be that the Lord had departed and you did not know.

You used to hear God speak clearly to you often, but now you only hear him on few occasions of which you even struggle to discern between His voice and that of the devil. That is a sign that the glory has simply departed. May I let you know that life is nothing without the presence of God. When the glory departs, life becomes worthless even if it looks worthy initially.

The verse 21 of that scripture summarizes the aftermath of the departure of God in anyone's life.

 21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.

The Philistines were able to seize him because the Lord had departed. They were unable to seize Samson until the Lord departed. You are no longer untouchable when the Lord had departed. Your glory becomes destroyable. Such person is prone to attack and even those who God has given you victory on, will then become the victor in your instead. Satan will take you a captive only when the Lord has departed.

The worst part was that they put out his eyes. His eyes were shattered and bartered. That's pathetic! The eyes represent vision. Where there is no eye, there is no vision. When the Lord had departed, a man of vision became visionless. No vision, no direction. Oh my God! Have you not noticed how your life and ministry has gotten no specific direction? It's simply because the Lord had departed and so the vision has been shattered. When the Lord has departed, Satan will take away your vision so that you can dance to his tone. When the Lord had departed, the vision will be plugged out. And where there is no vision, there is no direction. Where there is no direction, there is no focus. A life that cannot see cannot go far. The farther you see, the farther you can go. Invariably, a life that the Lord had departed from is a life without vision, direction and focus; and you'll agree with me that such life cannot go far.

As if that was not enough, they brought him down and bound him, and that great man became a laughing stock. He became an entertainer. Do you now see the reason why you’ve gradually degraded from what you used to be for God to an entertainer? Your congregation no longer feel sober for their sinful acts again, all they say now is ‘ride on pastor’ with a lot of useless shouts and claps. Are you actually different from Samson the supposed saviour who became an entertainer? The congregation the Lord called you to save are only being entertained by your tricks and drama on the pulpit. The Lord has simply departed, and you have been brought down like Samson.

But you know what? If only you could repent, ask for mercy and forsake your evil deeds, God is so kind to give you a second chance. We’ve seen that over and over again. Even in the case of Samson, his hair grew up again. His strength was restored at least one more time.

Perhaps you are thinking your own sin is so little to warrant the departure of God. Remember Saul only disobeyed God for him to be rejected. And funny enough, despite the fact that he has been rejected by God, he still ruled for many years. That’s the irony of the departure of God. It may not necessarily stop you immediately from doing things, but I tell you, it’s not going to be funny when your sins are visited.
Thus, it’s very expedient that you repent and go back to God now that grace is still available. Remember grace will not abound so far you’re in sin. It’s never going to be over for you so far you are ready to repent. Though sin might have shaved off your glory and strength, and plugged off your vision, if only you will repent and call for the departed presence of God one more time, God is able to restore the lost virtues to you.
God heard the prayer of Samson, He will still listen to yours. However, I hope you will not pray his prayer. The same was the case of Elijah. He prayed that the Lord take his life away and that was the end of Elijah’s ministry. God answered and asked him to anoint Elisha in his instead.
No matter how great your sin is, even if God will not hear your prayers, He will always hear your prayers of repentance. Samson’s prayer was to die with his enemies and so it was. Elijah’s prayer was also granted.
So please be wise and careful with your words as you ask God for mercy. There is nothing as having the lost presence of God, glory and vision restored. But you also must be willing to be humble and submissive to His will.

God bless you.