Judges 15:18–20: “He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, ‘You have given Your servant this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised Philistines?’ So God split open the basin at Lehi and water flowed from it. When he took a drink, his strength was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring En Hakkore. It remains in Lehi to this very day.”

This is the story of Samson after he defeated a thousand Philistines; now he was exhausted, tired, thirsty.

I want to draw attention to the fact that sometimes after a massive victory the danger level increases. You see it with Peter. After Jesus Christ has just said, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17), soon after Jesus Christ said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). That is interesting. After a massive victory, the danger can increase massively.

Paul said that after preaching to others, he disciplines himself so that after preaching to others he himself will not become a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27). So you need to watch out.

Look at what Samson did here. He cried out to the Lord because he had exerted himself, and after the exertion he was thirsty—and now, in a way, more in danger than before. So after you have exerted yourself and “won,” and in a way won some victories, be aware that you can be exposed to more danger.

Jesus Christ told His disciples, “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). At that time it was a high point. They were with Jesus when the crowd shouted “Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9). It was a high point of their ministry. It was like, “Something is going to change now; this is going to be the pivot point. We are moving to the next level in this ministry with Jesus Christ, because look at the crowd, look at the public acceptance, and this is Jerusalem, He is riding on a donkey.” He went to pray, and they slept. They thought, “This is the same thing that usually happens: He goes to pray and all that.”

That was a high point, and I am saying there is a danger after reaching a high point—that you are now in a more dangerous situation—and that the only solution is to look to God.

You might want to meet your thirst through some other means. You are exhausted physically, and there is the tendency to be distracted from the goal, just as Paul said, “After preaching to others, I do not want to be disqualified.” There is a tendency, a higher risk of being distracted. You need to be aware of that.

We can see the lesson from Samson here, who was thirsty and called upon God. He reached out to God. Even in that danger, just as Jesus Christ said, “Watch and pray,” reach out to God so that you will not fall into temptation. Because after a period, a season of exertion, the danger can increase.

Look at this victory now: who enabled Samson to have victory over the enemy? It was God. But even though it was God who enabled him to have victory over the enemy, that does not cancel out the exhaustion afterward and the need to call upon God, the need to continue. The same dependence on God that was utilized for that victory—you need to continue with that same dependence on God. That is what Jesus Christ was saying: “Watch and pray.” You are continuing in that frame, that mindset of dependence on God. You are not trying to do something rash. You are calmly, in a focused way, still expressing dependence on God even after that height of victory.

God bless you. See you later.