"The Spirit of the Lord came upon him (Sampson) in power"
Judges 14:19


Sampson and Delilah didn't have a fighting chance from the start.  He had a spiritual relationship with God.  
She didn't.  As was true with his former marriage, Sampson was the one carrying the spirituality for both
partners, trying to hold down the fort for both of them.  It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now.
Delilah never broke her allegiance with her Philistine roots, and on a bet she betrayed her would-be
spouse.  That's not love.  Eventually she would marry the best man, by the way, not Sampson.
The assumed secret to Sampson's strength was in the length of his hair.  Certainly that couldn't have been
entirely true, but maybe the hair had some role to play in it as a symbol of a deeper truth;
that of God's empowerment upon this man's life.  

The fact that the enemy was curious if Sampson's hair was the source of his power, would indicate that there
were no apparent signs that he had superior strength.  Every artist's rendering I've ever seen, even
illustrations within Bibles, shows Sampson as a huge and powerful specimen of a man.  If that were true,
there would have been no debate regarding his unusual strength.  However, the opposite is a more likely
scenario.  He was probably an average sized man, not outstanding physically in any way.  That would be
why the Philistines were wondering about his strength, and why they ended up betting odds
on his hair.  Devious Delilah was only too happy to see this one through.   

But in spite of herself, God used both the situation and her to bring about God's desired result.  
Sampson was God's man and the ultimate result was that God enabled him to be victorious in spite
of Delilah's scheming and deceit.  

Yes God used her.  God didn't have to, but the truth is that God has often used incompetent and often
rebellious humans to accomplish a greater good.  Let's face it, what other kind of people does God have to
pick from?  God can make perfect anything from nothing, rages to riches, weak to strong.  Does this mean
that God condones our weaknesses?  Nope.  I've seen God use seemingly the most incompetent people
including myself, completely inadequate to the task, and bring about glorious results through
the power of the Holy Spirit.

Of course we don't want any part of Delilah's rebellious attitude, but we can know that God, at any time,
can and will use whatever people or circumstances necessary to further the dominion of God, and hasten
the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Regardless of what someone may appear to be
at this moment, God still changes lives and is in charge of every situation.  Always continue holding up
those in prayer who God has laid upon your heart.  God is in charge.




                                                           .
the
bet