Samson ChallengeSample

Samson was blessed with this gift of strength from God, but he used this special gift for selfish purposes, to carry out acts of personal vengeance. In today’s Church, God has blessed its members with various gifts, abilities and skills and in 1 Corinthians 12, we are told that these gifts are to be used to build up the church.

The gifts that God has given you are not just for yourself, they are for the benefit of others. Your purpose and gifts will always coincide with someone else’s needs but when you use your God-given abilities for selfish gains, you actually rob the Church and your siblings in Christ of the strength they would have drawn from you. We need to check the motives behind our ministry work. Get your heart right, let your focus be on serving others for the sake of Christ, by dropping all pride and picking up love.

Pride can cause us to take credit for the work we’ve only done because of God’s strength, just like Samson did in Judges 15:16. Saying ‘Glory to God’ or ‘Thank God’ when someone sees that you have achieved isn’t about presenting yourself as humble or super-spiritual, it’s because God really does deserve ALL the glory, don’t be ashamed to acknowledge that!

The Philistines believed that it was their god that delivered Samson to them, although, Samson’s capture had nothing to do with their worthless idols but everything to with disobedience. God always keeps His side of an agreement but there are consequences when we fail to keep our’s. However, a repentant heart with a heartfelt prayer will cause God to move on your behalf.

It is encouraging to see that in spite of Samson’s past, God still answered his prayer. Sometimes we feel like we can’t pray because of our sin, we let guilt keep us from our only way out which is prayer. ‘Perfect behaviour’ was never a condition for prayer. You can pray in any state at any time, as long as you are willing to turn to God again, He will be there ready to receive you. You might pray for forgiveness and not feel forgiven, but are you going to go by your feelings or by God’s word? Believe His word and let your feelings catch up with your belief.

Thank you from Kanayo (@doctorkanayo) for completing the challenge. Share your thoughts #SamsonChallenge