Samson . . . pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. (Judges 16:30)
Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team when he was in the tenth grade. He was cut from the team. He went on to score 32,292 points and win six championships in his professional career. He did not accept failure as the final act. He used that failure to push him towards greatness.
God chose Samson to be his servant and to lead the Israelites. Samson’s Nazirite vows gave him every advantage to be a consecrated and godly servant. Samson led Israel for twenty years (see Judg. 15:20). Then Samson was tempted by Delilah. Samson broke his holy agreement and told her his secret. With his hair cut and his Nazirite vow broken, his strength was gone. The Philistines captured him, blinded him, and forced him to grind grain in prison.
Samson asked God for another chance, and God gave it to him. When the circumstances were right, his strength was restored. In one last mighty act Samson pushed down the columns of the pagan temple and killed three thousand Philistines. Samson did not accept his failure. Through his confession, God gave him another chance.
We can all identify with Samson and his need for another chance. Through our own acts and the actions of others, we face failed situations in our lives. Our forgiving God is ready to hear our confessions and give us another chance.
Stop collecting your failures and start counting on God’s forgiveness.
Ken Dill is the associate vice president for spiritual life and university chaplain at Southern Wesleyan University. He loves his family and enjoys birding and NASCAR.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
