Black Women Have It Going On

Good morning from Colorado! Have you ever stopped to think about the unusual ways God can get our attention? We often expect God to speak through a Sunday morning sermon, a Scripture we happen to read, or a quiet moment of prayer. But what if God can use something we never expected to deliver a message? Scripture gives us an interesting example in the story of Samson. In Judges 15, Samson found himself facing the Philistines, and what did he use? The jawbone of a donkey. Yes, you read that right—a jawbone! Samson picked it up and used it to defeat a thousand Philistines. Now, I don’t know what Samson was thinking when he picked up that jawbone, but I know what I think when I read the story: God can use anything to accomplish His purpose. The jawbone wasn’t powerful by itself. Samson wasn’t victorious because a donkey’s jawbone was some magical weapon. God was working through an unexpected instrument.

That makes me wonder how often we miss something God is trying to show us because we don’t like the way the message arrives. Maybe it’s a conversation we didn’t want to have. Maybe it’s advice from someone we didn’t expect to teach us anything. Maybe it’s a book, a song, or even a movie that causes us to stop and look at something differently. We can become so focused on who said something or where the thought came from that we miss the lesson sitting right in front of us. I’ve learned that I have to be careful about dismissing something simply because it didn’t arrive in the package I expected. God is God. If He could use a jawbone of a donkey, why couldn’t He use a movie to make me think? Why couldn’t He use something ordinary to cause me to examine something extraordinary? The instrument doesn’t have to look spiritual for God to use it for a spiritual purpose.

And maybe that’s the lesson for today: Don’t become so focused on the instrument that you miss what God is trying to do through it. We don’t have to accept everything we see or hear, and we certainly don’t have to agree with every message that comes our way. But we can remain teachable. We can pause. We can ask God, “What are You showing me?” Sometimes the answer may surprise us. Sometimes the thing we thought was insignificant becomes the very thing that changes our perspective. And sometimes, God uses something as ordinary as a movie to change the direction of a life.

The Call to Action

Today, I want you to pay attention.

Think about something you’ve encountered recently that made you stop, think, question, or see something differently. It may have come from an unexpected person or an unexpected place.

Instead of dismissing it immediately, take it to God.

Ask:

“Lord, what are You trying to show me?”

You don’t have to accept every message just because it came your way. But don’t be so quick to reject the messenger or the instrument that you miss the lesson.

Scripture

Judges 15:15–16 (KJV)

“And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.”

Samson’s victory wasn’t really about the jawbone.

It was about what God could accomplish through an unexpected instrument.

15 Minutes with God

Father, help me remain teachable. Don’t let me become so comfortable with what I already know that I refuse to learn anything new.

Give me discernment to recognize what is from You and the wisdom to know what to accept and what to leave behind.

If You choose to use an unexpected person, circumstance, conversation, book, song, or even a movie to get my attention, help me slow down long enough to ask, “What are You showing me?”

Keep my heart open, my ears attentive, and my spirit willing to learn.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

I’ll see you tomorrow for another 15 Minutes with God.