It’s Never Too Late Judges 16:28,30 says, And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, Oh Lord God, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this once, Oh God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 30) And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Most people know only fragments about the Old Testament judge Samson—long hair, superhuman strength, seduced by Delilah—but there is so much more worth knowing. Samson’s parents were barren but given a miracle child. An angel essentially announced to them, “You’re going to have a boy, and he will belong to God from the day he is born.” Samson was raised as a Nazarite, a person who took a strict vow to belong totally to the Lord. Sadly, pathetically, his life did not belong to God; it belonged to Samson. He was a sensual person. Though he grew up under God’s blessing, his attention was drawn to pleasure like a moth to a sizzling bulb. It was only a matter of time before he wandered. Proclaim Gods Promises in 2015 “Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines” (Judges 14:1). Samson allowed himself to be controlled by his appetites. Like all sensual wanderers, his life was out of control. Judges 14–16 detail the drama and violence—from his wedding, to his fits of rage and slaughters, to his entrapment by the seductress Delilah. In His mercy, God the Father sometimes lets us wander so we discover the futility of life without Him. How sad that Samson lived so far from the One who would have fully satisfied him. Eventually God released him to his desires, and Samson lost everything before he realized what really mattered. Perhaps it seems that way in your life right now. Has the boulder of reality fallen on you? If you’re still breathing, there’s hope. It wasn’t too late for Samson, and it isn’t too late for you. Though his eyes had been gouged out and his life reduced to grinding in darkness at the prison mill, “the hair of his head began to grow again” (Judges 16:22). The symbol of his calling began to return. Do you recall how Samson’s story ends? God strengthened him once more, and he toppled the pillars of the Philistine house, killing thousands (Judges 16:30). But that’s not all. There is a jaw-dropping footnote about Samson’s life. Hebrews 11:32 lists him as a man of faith. Samson’s failures didn’t disqualify him from God’s family. It wasn’t too late for Samson, and it’s not too late for you. You don’t have to resign yourself to the way you are today, fearing you’ll never change. You can be different—not by your own power but by the power of the Holy Spirit when you surrender fully to Him.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 07:10:57 +0000
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