SAMSON: Gifted But Unguarded (Part 4) By Babatunde Olugboji
This week we continue our series on the narrative of Samson and Delilah (Judge 13-16), one of the most dramatically captivating accounts in the Bible, an account that has served as a source of inspiration for numerous literary works, visual artworks, theatrical productions, and cinematic adaptations throughout the centuries. 
If Samson’s story ended with grinding grain in prison (Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison – Judges 16:21), it would simply be a tragedy. Blind. Bound. Humiliated.
But Judges 16:22 gives us one small sentence filled with enormous hope: “However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” His hair began to grow again. That verse is about more than hair. It whispers:
Failure is not always final. Samson had fallen terribly. He could not undo what he had done. His eyes did not grow back. The consequences of his choices remained. Grace does not always remove consequences. But even in prison, God had not finished with him. And at the end of his life, Samson did something we should not overlook.
He prayed. Judges 16:28 says: “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once…” For perhaps the first time in a long time, the strong man acknowledged where his strength really came from. Not his muscles. Not his hair. Not his personality. Not his reputation. God.
His final strength came through dependence. His final act came through prayer. And God heard him. Samson pushed against the supporting pillars of the temple of Dagon, the building collapsed, and he inflicted a devastating blow upon the Philistines even as he died.
His story is tragic. But it is not without redemption. Hebrews 11:32 astonishingly lists Samson among people remembered for faith. Why? Not because Samson was perfect. Far from it. But because the Bible is ultimately not a catalogue of perfect people. It is the story of a perfect God working through deeply imperfect people.
The Lessons of Samson:
Samson teaches us several unforgettable lessons:
1. First: Your gift cannot compensate for your character. You can be gifted and still fall. Talented and still falling. Anointed and still falling. Popular and still falling. Strong and still fall. What sustains you over the long haul is not simply what God has placed upon you, but what God is developing within you.
2. Second: Never play with what has the power to destroy you. Samson kept getting close to danger until one day danger got hold of him. Some things should not be managed. They should be fled from. Paul told Timothy: “Flee youthful lusts.” (2 Timothy 2:22) Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is run.
3. Third: Guard your consecration. There are things that may be permissible for others but dangerous for you because of your assignment. Samson was set apart. And if God has entrusted something significant to you, protect it. Protect your prayer life. Protect your marriage. Protect your mind. Protect your integrity. Protect your private life.
To be continued…
Have a good week.
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