Samson was not the smartest guy in the Bible, but he was definitely the strongest. I’ve always visualized Samson as the Arnold Schwarzenegger type with bulging biceps and a rippled body. After reading his story several times, it dawned on me, it wasn’t obvious where his strength came from so maybe he looked like me. He could have looked like all the other men around him, but his strength made him radically different. The Philistines were so set on capturing Samson that they used a woman as their bait. Women were Samson’s kryptonite. Delilah was the one sent to find out where Samson’s strength came from. If it had been obvious, then it would have been strange to keep asking the question, “Tell me where your strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” Judges 16:6 Several times Samson told her different things that would zap him of his strength, and each time he followed up by saying, “then I shall be weak, and be like any other man.” You need to know this is the enemy’s goal in your life—to make you like any other man or woman.
Finally Samson told the secret of his strength and that was then end of his great standing among God’s people. His hair was cut and he was easily carried away to the Philistine’s prison where he became a grinder at the wheel with his eyes plucked out. A movie came out in 2018 about Samson starring Taylor James because this story was so captivating.
You do not live in the movies, but God has given every child of God amazing strength. It’s not physical, but it’s spiritual and mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Your strength is what the unseen enemy is after, and he will use any tactic to make you like every other man or woman. The enemy’s success rate is high because he knows our weaknesses and he is relentless in his mission. And if you have succumbed to his tactics and all your strength is gone, there is good news for you and it’s found in one verse in the Samson story. While blind and grinding in circles in a dark prison it says, “However, the hair of his head began to grow again...”Judges 16:22 Samson’s strength was growing back about the pace of the hair growing on his head, and you can believe your strength will come back as well. It may not come back as fast as you want it to, but in time you can be back to full strength in the Lord. Make no mistake and be encouraged today that if you’ve lost all strength and you’ve become like every other man or woman, seek the Lord to renew your strength. God wants you to be strong in Him.