Daily Devotional

“And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand” (Judges 14:6). 

The World’s Strongest Man is a competition held annually around the world. Eight competitors are tested against each other in events that measure strength to the fullest extent, such as a race to load heavy objects, vehicle pulls, dead lifts, keg tosses, and even car carries. 

The 2015 champion was Brian Shaw of Fort Lupton, Colorado. The six- foot-eight-inch winner weighed 434 pounds. Brian has hoisted 400-pound logs over his head, towed twelve-ton trucks, and has even lifted and carried two refrigerators at once. In grade school, kids would pile on Shaw’s back, not because they didn’t like him, but because they wanted to see how many of them, he could carry. 

If Samson had competed in the World’s Strongest Man, he would have easily won. The unusual strength in this Hebrew’s muscles was nothing short of supernatural. God intended to use the son of Manoah to free Israel from the oppression of the Philistines. Sometimes the strongman, dedicated to God from birth, cooperated with the Lord. Often, he did not. 

Samson had a weakness for women. When he wanted a Philistine woman to be his wife, his parents encouraged him to find a young lady from among his own people. He demanded of his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” (Judges 14:3). He got his way, but the union gave the jealous Philistines the opportunity to plot against him and Israel. He ended up burning the fields of the Philistines and killing a thousand of them with the jawbone of a donkey—and losing her. 

Though Samson ranked high in physical strength, he was a morally weak man. His lack of self-control led him to satisfy his own selfish desires rather than do the work of the Lord. God has given each of us special talents for building up the kingdom of heaven. How do you use your gifts? 

Dear God, thank You for giving me special abilities. May I use my strength to lift others up and not myself.