Are you a Samson?

Samson was one of the most renowned judges of Israel.  His long hair, immense strength and his encounters with the Philistines are legendary.  He was also infamous for his lustful desire of foreign women.  In the end, that desire for a woman brought him down.  God did, however, bless him in spite of his short comings.

Have you noticed anything strange about pictures of Samson?  Take a look at the picture below and think about what he would have looked like.  If you had been in Israel during his day, what would you have seen?  Would this be a good representation of the person you would expect to see?

Nope, that is not the person I would expect to see as Samson.  Look at him!  This guy has muscles.  He has a lifetime pass to the Gold’s Jerusalem Gym.  You would find him everyday in the weight room pumping iron.  This guy is has enough muscle to make two of me.  Ok so that wouldn’t be hard to do, but still, he has huge muscles.

“Well duh!” You say. “Samson was strong!  He carried the city gates, and their two post, on his back up to the top of a mountain.  He killed 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.  He knocked down the temple of Dagon and killed 3000 Philistines.  This guy has some muscle.”

I don’t think so.  Samson was not strong.  Not saying he was a weakling, but I doubt that he possessed a lot of muscle.  He probably looked pretty much like anyone else.  He didn’t walk around bare chested and flex his muscles for the women to oooh and aaah over.  If he did look so muscular why did everyone wonder about where he got his strength?

Judges 16:4-5 “⁴ Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. ⁵ The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

Would you be asking where Samson’s strength comes from if you could see huge muscles bulging out everywhere?  Of course not.  It would be obvious where he got his strength from then.  He must have looked pretty normal but still exhibited great strength.

Has God called upon you to exhibit great strength?  Maybe He called you  to tell a neighbor about him or to lead a Bible study.  Did God call on you to do something which you did not have the talent, knowledge or experience to do?  You heard the call but answered, “Oh Lord, you know I would love to do that for you but ….” and you gave him a list of why you were too weak to fulfill his call upon you.

Samson could not perform any acts of strength on his own.  His power was manifested in him because God was his strength.  There was nothing physically special about Samson.  NOTHING!!!  What was special was that God used him.  God was the power within him, who gave him that great strength.

God is the power within you that gives you the great strength to fulfill the plan He has for you.  If He calls on you to be a preacher of the Gospel then rest on His strength.  He will make you strong enough to fulfill His work of you becoming that preacher.  He will lead you in the training, the wisdom, and the power to be what He calls you to be.  There is nothing too big that His power cannot overcome. 

Be a Samson.  Let people wonder how someone so ordinary can do such extraordinary things.