Samson Part 2: Faith Wins

After telling Delilah that his hair was his strength, Samson lost his hair AND his strength. And it was pretty much downhill from there:

Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison - Judges 16:21)

But it was there, in his captivity and pain that he realized where his strength came from. Nowhere in Judges 13-16 do we ever see Samson pray until just this moment. Prior to this moment, Samson has killed a lion and 1,030 Philistines with brute strength. Strength that he attribute to dead cells on top of his head. But in that moment, in that horrible moment of weakness, Samson found his true strength:

Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. - Judges 16: 28 - 30

Samson has no right to expect anything from the Lord. Look at where he is. Look at what his life has come down to...but that didn't stop him from asking. It didn't stop him from putting his last shred of trust, and his last remnant of faith in God. And when he did, two things happened:

1. His strength returned, and he fulfilled the purpose God had set out for him, and 
2. He obtained his good report

Clarification? Sure.

For the first point, it's obvious that his strength returned and he was given power that the Philistines thought they had taken from him. But know this: those who are set apart by God, always belong to God. By the angel, God had already spoken a word concerning Samson, and it was going to be fulfilled (see Isaiah 55:11). Do you remember that word God spoke: "...and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." In life, he killed 1,030 with brute strength. At his death, he killed 3,000 with his faith! Faith Wins.

We too have been set apart. So I don't care how bleak your situation looks, don't give up on God. And no matter what mistakes you have made, never neglect to cry out to Him for help. 

For the second point, I put this out to put an end to all the "cautionary tale" chatter. Samson's story is one of ultimate victory! Twenty years he judged in Israel without a clue. But in one day, in his worst moment...he obtained a good report by faith. Samson's faith pleased God. The fact that Samson would cry out to Him, pleased God.  How do I know? The Bible tells me so:

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight... and these all, having obtained a good report through faith...

There are people in that list who have been doubted (Samson and Jephthah), but of this there is no doubt: by faith they were found APPROVED. They are stamped APPROVED and ACCEPTED, and are even now waiting for the rest of us to join them in eternity. And it is by faith. Don't knock it...because:

Faith Wins.

I love this song...and I don't know...it reminds me of Samson.