Anyone But Meنموونە

Obedient—Samson’s Secret Strength

If anyone was strong, it was Samson. His name is synonymous with strength. His life is filled with hidden pictures of the ultimate strong One. For example, we’re told that Samson defeated a lion with his bare hands: “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).

Jesus alone, however, conquered the fearsome lion of death. Humanity stood helpless and hopeless before its terrible jaws. Satan walked unhindered as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The god of this world once held the keys to death and hell, but through the cross and the resurrection, Jesus ripped them from his ugly hands (Hebrews 2:14–15).

Samson’s strength wasn’t in his hair. The root of his strength was his obedience to God. His human frailties disappeared when “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.” Obedience was the secret to his power, and obedience is how you and I overcome the frailties of our human nature.

The reason the apostle Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord is because in the Lord we have power and strength. The moment we are born again, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us and lives within us. We are in the Lord, He is in us, and we can do what we need to do through Christ: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

When the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, it was for the purpose of being witnesses of Christ. Jesus told His disciples: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 

The Holy Spirit came upon them and made His dwelling place within them. This wasn’t temporary. It was permanent: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth” (John 14:16–17). We have the same strength that Samson had. We are to be strong—that is, obedient—in the Lord.

Have you thought of obedience as your source of strength?  Does this affect your understanding of what it is to be strong in the Lord?