无 力
大利拉说:「参孙哪,非利士人拿你来了!」
参孙从睡中醒来,心里说:「我要像前几次出去活动身体」;
他却不知道耶和华已经离开他了。
(士师记十六章20节)
心远离神的其中一个记号,是缺乏属灵能力。如果你像参孙,你不会马上知道神的能力已经离开你。只有在参孙想打败敌人时,参孙才知道事情不对劲。他像从前一样起来对付非利士人,期待他们像从前战败,抱头鼠窜。然而,他们轻易地打败他。
如果你允许罪蹑手蹑脚地进入生命,如果你拒绝顺服你的主,如果你不肯与伤害你的对头和解,你的属灵生命力是虚弱无力的。你可能以为每件事都很顺利,但是, 你的祷告却似乎没有回应。你曾经正面影响你身边的人,然而,你现在的影响力极微,甚至于造成别人的伤害。你的生命曾经劝慰有纷争的人,使他们和解,如今你 却有人际关系的问题。你身边原本倚靠你力量的人,发现你不再像从前能够帮助他们。你并没有为失去属灵能力而痛心疾首,反而无视于自己的灵性及与神的关系有 所改变。
如何让自己的灵性停止走下坡路呢?你一定要定期为自己的罪悔改,一定要求神鉴察,你的生活中是否有必要除去的态度、人际关系或其他作为。你一定要热切地顺服祂的旨意。如果以这种态度与神同行,你的属灵能力会成长,并且可以被神重用。
Powerless
And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. (Judges 16:20)
One of the signs of a heart that has shifted from God is the absence of spiritual power. If you are like Samson, you will not be immediately aware that God’s power has left you. Only after he tried to defeat his enemies did Samson recognize that something was wrong. He went against the Philistines as before, expecting their swift defeat. But this time the Philistines easily prevailed over him. If you allow sin to creep into your life, if you refuse to obey your Lord, if you do not reconcile with those who have hurt you, your spiritual vitality is waning. You may assume everything is fine, but when you pray, answers do not come as they once did. You once had a positive effect on those around you, but now your influence is negligible or even harmful. Your life once brought reconciliation, but now you experience problems in your relationships. Those around you who have relied upon your strength are discovering that you are not as helpful to them as you once were. Your lack of spiritual power is not crying out for attention; but you are seeing subtle changes in your spirit and in your relationship with God. How can you stop this spiritual decline? You must regularly repent of any sin. You must invite God to search your life to see if there are attitudes, relationships, or activities that need to be removed. You must fervently obey His will. If you walk with God in this manner, you will grow in spiritual strength and be used mightily by Him.