By Pastor John Mateos Ong
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Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord again, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of Philistines for forty years.
Now, the Lord raises another judge through the barren wife of a certain man from Zorah named Manoah from the clan of Danites. The man of God told the lady, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Judges 13:2-5
The boy was named Samson and has an amazing gift from God. With his gift of incredible strength and guidance from God, Samson had his calling to be Israel’s judge even if they are still in the hands of the Philistines. But every gift has its weakness—and in Samson’s case, he fell in love with Delilah. He has no self-control, no internal conviction, and no wisdom. Then there was his fall, through Delilah, he was captured, gouged his eye, shackled and set him to grinding grain in the prison.
Samson may have super strength but despite this, he had his great downfall when he forgot who gave him this strength. If we think of it, where do our strength really come from? Here are 3 points to know how and where do we get our strength and what lessons can we learn from Samson.
1. Know Your Heart – We’re just normal people, and we sometimes confuse that our hearts should rule whatever we do in our lives. But in Jeremiah 17:9 it tells us that the heart is deceitful. It can show us the danger of some people and even things but it puts us into confusion through the emotions we feel. If we do not know the heart’s true purpose and how to manage it, it could cause us our great downfall.
2. Know Your Enemy – It’s hard if your enemy lives with you but it is harder if it lives within you. The Bible proved us this through Romans 7:15, 18-20. God gave us free will and with this, we can choose to do what is right, but if we let sin to always dwell in us it will be hard for us to live in righteousness.
3. Know Your Purpose – A clear purpose is like a map on your cellphones—if you set your destination, it may re-route some time but it will lead you to where you want to go. Now think of your God’s purpose for you. Why does He wake you up in the morning? What does He want you to do?
Yes, Samson had his fall, but in the end, he remembered his purpose. He got his redemption when he called upon God once again and with the Holy Spirit he regained his strength. On his last breath, he returned to God and God did not fail and turned his back on him.
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