Lessons from Samson

Samson was a strong guy.  We all know that, we’ve read the stories.  We act out knocking down things, but at the same time he was incredibly weak. 

 

Samson had a weakness for women, and he didn’t run from it.

 

When you read the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife comes at him, he runs.  As fast and as far as he can.  This doesn’t keep him from getting in trouble, but it does keep him from getting in trouble.

 

Samson didn’t run, or at least not away.

 

And ultimately that’s why he fell, because he didn’t trust God, he trusted his strength.  He thought he could fight his way out of anything.

 

But can we?  If God is on our side, we certainly can.  We see that over and over again in Judges.

 

But, Samson was the most gifted Judge, he had strength, he had the right upbringing, but ultimately God couldn’t use him as mightily as he did many of the other Judges.

 

What is the difference?

 

To me, it’s attitude and heart.  Samson only called on God when he HAD to.  “God I’m dying of thirst, give me water.”  “God, I want revenge for my eyes, help me knock this down.”  Even those prayers are about Samson.

 

Gideon, on the other hand talked to God constantly at first, and look at what he did.  He destroyed an entire kingdom.  What did Samson do?  He killed a few thousand people.  It says in Judges 16:30, “he killed more when he died, than while he lived.”  What a sad epitaph.

 

I hope to be remembered like Gideon or Deborah, or Othneil.  God used them mightily even if they had great weakness.  I want to be mightily used by God.

 

So, what’s your choice, which Judge do you want to be?

PS: I’ll get Gideon up soon, I went out of town and discovered I didn’t have the pictures I wanted for the story.  Soon to follow after is Ruth.