“Samson . . . whose weakness was turned to strength” (Hebrews 11:32-34).
Samson certainly does not display an exemplary spiritual life. Going against his father’s counsel, he marries a Philistine woman. She had evil intentions to entrap her husband, but he joined in with her deceptive behavior and lied to her over and over again (see Judges 16). This is certainly not an example of a godly marriage. As we see in Samson’s life, using lies to accomplish our goals will eventually lead to problems. “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).
We see a few characteristics of faith in Samson. He displayed great feats of strength and always gave God the credit for working through him. Like Paul who says: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), Samson believed God could give him unlimited strength to accomplish the Lord’s will. In Hebrews 11:34 we see that through Samson’s faith weakness was turned into strength. The encouraging thing about having Samson in the list of men and women of faith is that we see we do not need to be perfect people in order to be used by God. Samson lived in a dark time in the history of the Israelites. They were doing whatever seemed right in their own eyes instead of following God’s laws. There was not a godly man or woman among them to lead the people. However, God saw that though Samson was weak in character, he had great faith in the power of God to give him strength to defeat the Philistines. He had faith to tear a lion apart with his bare hands. By faith, he struck down a thousand men using the jawbone of a donkey. By faith, he had the strength to tear down two central pillars, ending his life but crushing the enemy.
When we have faith in the unlimited power of God, we have courage to follow God’s will and do things we would not normally do. Realizing that God can do the impossible enables us to pray with faith for miracles of God. Trusting that God’s Spirit can fill us with supernatural strength, we will persevere and not give up. We will boldly take on tasks that others might shy away from. We will go places, say things, and do things that others in fear will not attempt. When we realize that God’s grace is sufficient for us and that His power is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10), we will step out with greater faith and accomplish much greater things for His glory and His Kingdom. What is God asking you to do by faith that requires you to trust His strength to work in and through you? Surrender to His will and allow God’s Spirit to work powerfully through you today.
Today’s Bible Reading: Judges 14:5-6; 15:12-17; 16:25-30; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
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