Have you ever thought much about the story of Samson? I’ve been studying from the book of Judges this week and enjoyed revisiting the story of this Nazarene judge.

You remember the details. Samson was given superhuman strength as long as he didn’t cut his hair. Samson waged a war against the Philistines, an enemy of the Israelites. He eventually was enticed and betrayed by a woman, Delilah, who gave him over to the Philistines. While in captivity, Samson’s hair regrew and he used his strength to topple a Philistine temple and kill many of his captors.

Pretty intense, huh?

I’m fascinated by this story from Judges 13-16. And I’m struck by the three leadership lessons we can gain from the story of Samson.

1. God has given all of us a gift. Samson was given great strength. He used his gift for good purposes. We need to identify and maximize the gifts God has given to us.

2. We all have weaknesses. Samson was easily enticed by a woman. He was distracted by lust and it eventually brought an early end to his work and influence. What are our areas for concern? Lust? Greed? Envy? Indifference? We need to acknowledge these weaknesses and make sure they don’t derail our personal ministry efforts.

3. We all have an opportunity for redemption. Samson was captured, but he was given one last opportunity against his foes. It’s the same for us. Life will deal us unfortunate circumstances. We’ll make mistakes. But our God is a God of grace. There’s always hope through Jesus. As long as we have a repentant, resilient heart…there’s always forgiveness and redemption.

My prayer this week is to realize my Spiritual gifts, be aware of those behaviors which cause me to stumble and to never cease to walk with Jesus.

Please let me know how I may pray for you.

God bless.