Sampson

Judges 16:20
“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.”

The story of Samson is both fascinating and tragic. His feats of strength are paralleled only by legendary super heroes. He defeated lions, carried city walls, and fought off platoons of soldiers, with nothing more than skeleton bones. As far as Biblical characters go, he was the most gifted of all. Sadly, those gifts were never really used for the work of God. Each of his feats of strength was only used to get him out of difficult situations that his disobedience got himself into. Instead of reading of Samson leading the nation of Israel back to the Lord, we read only of his selfishness and continual compromise.

Samson had every opportunity to become a great man of God. He grew up in a family that encouraged him to commit himself to the Lord. I can only imagine that he was told over and over again about the visitation of the angel, and the great plans God had for his life. Samson was also uniquely gifted by the Lord. We never read of his physical stature, only that his great strength came from the Spirit of the Lord. Yet with all this opportunity, Samson chose to pursue the desires of his flesh and make relationship compromises that cost him his life, and Israel its deliverer.

It has always fascinated me that Samson is listed along with David, Joshua, and Moses in the record of Hebrew 11. A chapter devoted to men who accomplished great things by trusting the Lord, also includes a man who lived after the desires of his flesh. As far as I can tell, the only heroic act in Samson’s tragic life was his final one. After walking away from the Lord and losing everything, he finally surrenders all. We read that his hair began to grow again, and the strength of the Lord came upon him for one last accomplishment.

While his story is tragic, it ends with a declaration of the grace of God. We learn it is not too late to cry out to God. Perhaps your life has been marked with wandering from the ways of God. Instead of continuing down that path, take a page from Samson’s story and cry out for the mercy of God. Perhaps there remains in your future a great victory for the kingdom of Heaven.

Pastor Jim

Judges 14:3

“…And Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she pleases me well.’”

Few people have ever had the kind of talent Samson had. He was gifted far above anyone else in his generation. Tragically, however, Samson wasted his gifts by consuming them in search of his own pleasures. Two truths seem to cry out from his story.

First, I notice how common it is for gifts to be wasted. I remember back in my high school years, there was a student, just a year above me, who was the most gifted basketball player in the area. Every time he took the to court, he was a standout in scoring, and in defense. It looked as though he could write his own ticket to college, and perhaps even the NBA. Sadly, however, he got involved in the party life and went nowhere. Even as a teenager, I remember feeling so sad that all that talent had been wasted.

Second, I notice that it is not the most talented who are the most effective. No man in history could rival Samson for the gifts he received. He was perhaps the most talented man in all the Bible, yet he accomplished very little with his gifts. I wonder how many times we have felt, if we were more gifted we could be more effectively used by God? We think if we were a better communicator, or a bit smarter, or had musical gifts or . . . then God could use us. The story of Samson makes it clear that commitment to the Lord is far more important than talent, in the furtherance of the work of God. Instead of wishing we were like someone else, we should devote ourselves fully to Jesus, and see how He might use us, just the way He made us.

Pastor Jim