We all know about the bad Samson -- you know the guy who fell asleep in Delilah's lap, gave away his anointing and messed up his calling. Truth be told, we all have a bad Samson in us. We are all susceptible to Delilah's temptation. At the moment of weakness we think not of the consequences of giving in to Delilah's seductive, silky voice that tries to strip us of our secret strength. We think not that our vision may be lost (eyes gouged out), that we will live in a prison of guilt and shame over losing our call and destiny, and that life will become a grind. No, we are not that clear minded. But that need not be our lot, our course, the end of our story. In fact there was a good Samson, and everyone of us has an opportunity to be a good Samson.
Samson, after all, was a judge of Israel for 20 years. He was the leader of the nation. He did subdue the Philistines. He was God's appointed servant, and his calling and birth was supernaturally given. But here's the best and most powerful part of Samson - the key to his secret strength. The bible says he was under a Nazerite vow, which meant he didn't cut his hair or drink wine. What is the significance of this?
1) Hair speaks of covering, speaks of our headship. Samson's uncut hair signified his on-going, continuous, unbroken fellowship with his covering, his head - God himself. Although not explicitly given in the scriptures, Samson had a deep abiding intimacy with God. He knew God's voice, how to move in the anoiting, and as a result had supernatural strength. Samson was close to God! He had a lifestyle of being close to God. He walked with God. That's what his uncut hair was about. It was the first part of his secret strength.
2) Wine is a relaxant. It dissipates stress. We all need stress relievers in our lives. Movies, reading, vacations, recreation, exercise, etc. However, the pursuit of relieving stress can take away from our spiritual power. Rather than dissipating our stress in God, we dissipate it in natural or sometimes carnal ways. God knows this. So when he put Samson under that Nazerite vow, he was putting a boundary on how Samson could relieve stress --- he had to bring it to God and not give it to wine. (I have nothing against wine btw; wine in this illustration is a representation of forms of stress relievers we have). By forcing Samson to bring his stresses to God, God was intensifying Samson's reliance and dependency on God and converting that negative stress energy into power and anointing. Could you maybe "use" God instead of wine as a "relaxant?" I guarantee you, you'll experience an increase in power.
Long hair, no wine - keys to Samson's secret strength. Good Samson. There is an invitation for all of us to be good Samson's. Jealously nurture unbroken intimacy and fellowship with God, and rely on God even to dissipate your stresses and you will start walking in a new realm of anointing with God. Out with the bad Samson, in with the good Samson.
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