Standing Strong in the Anointing: Lessons From the Life of SamsonSample

Deceived While Yet Anointed?

(All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

I have been waiting for years to unpack this teaching on deception related to the anointing. Some people may ask, “Are you saying there’s deception in the precious and pure anointing of the Holy Spirit?” Well, another way to say it is that deception can come from our misconceptions when touching and handling the anointing. The anointing itself is not deceptive in the least bit, but you can be both anointed and deceived at the same time. The long list of influential leaders and ministers who operated powerfully in the anointing while living in known, egregious sin shows this to be true. In order to stand strong in the anointing, we must be able to discern the traps that can come from the enemy while we are walking in that anointing.

This teaching may save your life. For sure, it will help unravel confusion about why people who are highly gifted think they can get away with immorality, and why highly gifted people can have wrong doctrines and still see godly fruit produced by their ministries. The anointing is not God’s seal of approval on a person’s character or doctrine. The anointing is a gift, and a gift is purely by grace, which means that no one earns it or deserves it. We do a great disservice to gifted people by elevating them to pedestals that we should never put them on.

With these hints of where we’re going in this study, you can see why I have been so burdened about this subject—having studied it in Scripture, looked at it from precedents in Jewish and church history, and been involved in moves of the Holy Spirit for decades. There is so much debris today from casualties of despair, disappointment, and disillusionment that have been caused by fallen, anointed vessels of God. The good news is that the Bible is not afraid to address this subject. One of the most instructive biblical examples is the life of Samson, described in the book of Judges. The Word of God openly deals with a lot of things that we are often afraid to address.

When you think of Samson, the famous muscle-bound judge in the Old Testament, what words would you use to describe his calling? Two positive words that may come to mind for this great deliverer of Israel are strength and justice. Usually, another person’s name also comes to mind when we think of Samson: Delilah. Although Samson’s original calling was to purity, he is a classic example of how someone can be deceived while yet anointed and what we must do (and not do) to stand strong. Samson tragically fell into a trap of being deceived and misled while under the anointing, resulting in a spiral of chaos that only God could redeem. In this devotional, we’ll be looking at his story and some vital lessons we can learn from it.

Judges 13 describes how Samson’s birth came about. The Bible says that his parents had no children because his mother was barren. The angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s mother and said:

You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. (Judges 13:3–5 NIV)

Note the supernatural activity surrounding Samson’s birth! His parents experienced an angelic visitation and healing from infertility. We can also see Samson’s consecration and calling. He was a Nazirite from the womb—holy, set apart unto God, as proclaimed by the angel of the Lord. Fascinating. What else does the Bible have to say about Samson? “So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him” (verses 24–25). The beginning of Samson’s life sounds a lot like that of Samuel, John the Baptist, and even Jesus. Sadly, not everyone who starts well finishes well.

Judges 14–16 records the rest of Samson’s story, which is an enlightening account of his triumphant rise, devastating fall, and redemptive end as a leader of Israel. As we go through portions of his story over the next several days, I will highlight key lessons so we can discern the traps the enemy lays out for us and learn how we can stand strong in the anointing.