Samson’s Source of Strength
by Oliver Carlos
I once had long hair. But it’s not the Freddie Aguilar-type of long hair. It’s still short hair, but just long enough to make some braids. I had my hair braided before every basketball game. I had a different braid style for each game. I had corn rows by 3s,4s,5s, and sometimes with a zigzag formation. I felt like a real NBA player. The braids gave me a psychological effect that I was strong, speedy, and skillful like stars I see on TV, but of course, this was just my imagination.
There’s a Bible character who also had long hair, and many believed that the hair was his source of strength. I’m talking about Samson, who was said to be the strongest man who ever lived. Many imagine him to be tall and hunky like the Incredible Hulk. A careful study reveals that the Bible didn’t give much description of his physique. It only mentioned of him having long hair braided in 7 rows (Judges 16:13, NIV).
Most people today believe that Samson’s source of strength was his long hair. When Delilah cut it short, Samson became a weakling. But that is not necessarily true. Studying the Bible carefully will show us that his true source of power was the Holy Spirit. His long hair was just a symbol of his parents’ dedication of their son to the Lord (Judges 13:5–7, NIV).
Every time Samson would do something that required superhuman strength, notice that the Bible would always mention “and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power” before he did those feats. Take a look at these 3 instances:
“The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. Samson tore the lion apart like one tears a young goat.” (Judges 14:6, NLV)
“Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him with power. Samson went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of the town.” (Judges 14:19, NLV)
“The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power. The ropes on his arms became as weak as a burning plant and fell from his hands.” (Judges 15:14, NLV)
Samson’s parents had great faith in God and wished that their only son would be godly as well. However, Samson lived a carefree or happy-go-lucky life, violating every rule in the book. Finally, when God decided not to fill him with power in that instance when Samson was with Delilah, only then did Samson realize the need for God in his life.
“He awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as I have at other times. I will shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” (Judges 16:20, NLV)
God was just gracious to Samson during the times that he was given strength to do his previous exploits. But Samson never acknowledged the presence of God in his life in those moments. When Samson had reached his limit, God taught him a very simple principle: No God, no power.
Many times, in our life, we are like Samson. We tend to forget God who gave us what we needed to be successful. He gave us our talents, abilities, wisdom, good health, finances, training, and passion. Yes, it’s true that these things are ingredients of success, but who blessed us with these? God has helped us in all our accomplishments and has led us to higher grounds. We should realize that God is our ultimate source. We are who we are because of God’s grace.
In what way do you wish God would help you today? Be bold in asking him to fill you with his power. Then don’t forget to give him the credit that is due him.
