Judges 16:22-25 – Finish Strong

²⁶ And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

²⁸ And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

³⁰ And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

³¹ Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

After such a deep and detailed look at Samson’s life, it is easy to think of him as a failure to God and His plan. However, Hebrews 11, which lists people of great faith from the Old Testament says, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.” Samson is listed right before David! A man the Bible calls a man after God’s own heart! In this final part of Samson’s life we see him act with a lot of faith! He has a boy position him between the load bearing pillars of the house and asked God for his strength one more time. God honored Samson’s faith and Samson literally brought down the house on himself and everyone else, dealing a devastating blow to the Philistine oppressors.

Samson failed to live up to his potential in many ways, but in his last moments he acted with great faith and dealt a crippling blow to the people God had set him apart to defeat, and that is what he is remembered for in Hebrews 11. Samson’s example typifies to importance of finishing strong. Although you may have your whole life in front of you, decisions you make now will influence your future. The friends you have will affect your actions, decisions you make will have consequences, and things that you say will affect your reputation. Make decisions now to finish strong!

Life Step: Think about it…

What kind of decisions can you make now to have a positive influence on your future?

What kind of decisions might have a negative impact on your future?