Shaking Without Power - Follow Jesus

Samson, the Departed Spirit, and the Illusion of Strength

There is a moment in Scripture that is as tragic as it is terrifying:

“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

Samson did not stop believing he was strong. He did not stop moving. He did not stop acting like God was still with him. He shook himself—just like always. But the power was gone.

This is one of the most sobering lines in the Bible because it reveals something many people never consider:

It is possible to continue the motions of faith after the presence of God has quietly withdrawn.

For years, Samson had known what it felt like when the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him. Strength surged. Enemies fell. Victories came. But compromise crept in:

Small steps away from obedience.
Small indulgences of sin.
Small dismissals of holiness.

None of them seemed to matter—until suddenly they did.

And when the final line was crossed, Samson still stood up expecting God to move.

But heaven was silent.

This did not happen only to Samson. The Same Thing Happened to the Temple centuries later. In Ezekiel’s vision, the prophet watches something heartbreaking unfold: The glory of the LORD—His manifest presence—departs from the temple (Ezekiel 10–11). The presence of the Lord was gone.

Yet the priests kept offering sacrifices.

The singers kept singing.
The incense kept burning.
The rituals continued.
The machinery of worship kept running.

But the presence was gone.

God had left His house, and most of the people never noticed. They believed Jerusalem couldn’t fall because it was home to the Temple—to the Ark of the covenant.

But God had issued His people certificate of divorce.

In Jeremiah 3:8, the Lord says,

“I saw, when, for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah didn’t fear, but went and played the prostitute also.” — Jeremiah 3:8

There is a terrifying parallel here. And this is what makes Samson’s story so dangerous. It is also what makes Jesus’ judgment of the temple so severe. Both reveal a truth we desperately need to hear:

God’s presence is not guaranteed by tradition.

You can have:

Scripture
Sermons
Songs
Services
Structures
Strategies

And still miss the Spirit.

Just as Samson shook himself, many churches are shaking themselves today.

The lights come on.
The music starts.
The message is delivered.
The schedule runs.
The livestream streams.

But power is not present.

Why We Don’t Notice When He Leaves

Samson didn’t realize the LORD had departed because nothing outwardly changed at first. That’s the danger. When God’s presence fades, the systems remain.

When power departs, programs continue. When holiness is lost, activity stays. And so people assume God is still there.

But fruit disappears.
Lives stop being transformed.
Sin becomes comfortable.
Prayer becomes thin.
Repentance becomes rare.
The fear of the LORD fades.
The church still shakes.

But nothing moves.

“Not by Might, Nor by Power…”

God once spoke through the prophet Zechariah: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD.”

Samson believed it was by might.
The temple believed it was by ritual.
Many churches believe it is by strategy.

But fruitfulness never comes from human strength.

It comes from God’s presence.

No amount of gifted preaching can replace the Spirit.
No level of excellence can substitute for holiness.
No amount of innovation can generate life.

Only God gives fruit.

The Quiet Warning to Us

Samson was not defeated by his enemies first. He was defeated by the absence of God.

The temple was not destroyed because of its enemies. It was destroyed because God had already left it.

And churches do not become fruitless because of culture. They become fruitless because they have lost dependence.

They shake themselves.

But there is no power.

The Way Back

The answer is not to shake harder.

It is not to work more.

It is not to do better.

It is to return.

To the truth.
To confession.
To repentance.
To humility.
To prayer.
To surrender.
To abiding.

Because when the Spirit of God is present, fruit grows.

And when He is not, no amount of motion can make up for it.

So the question we must ask is not: “Are we busy for the Lord?”

It is: “Is the Spirit of the LORD still with us?”