As we look at real life lessons from our biblical Anti-hero Sampson, we can find wisdom and direction from God’s Word on ‘how to be single.’ If you are needing some clear ‘what not to do in relationships’ this is for you. Whether you’re a young adult, teen, recently divorced—or even in a relationship that might need to end; my prayer is that through this devo you will find strength + a clear reason to hold out for the person that God has prepared for you. This 5-Day Plan is narrated by the author.
Nicole Wiencek
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 139:13-18, Ephesians 2:10, 2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:11, Philippians 2:13, Judges 13:5
PURPOSE
In case you haven’t been told or you need the reminder, YOU are created on purpose, for purpose.
We see in Judges 13:5, that Sampson’s mom was told by an angel of the Lord while she was still pregnant that her baby son was “set apart to God from birth…”
Ok, even though this was a specific promise for Samson about the role he would play in history by helping “bring deliverance to the people of Israel”—we understand this is also a principle that applies to us as well. The Bible makes it clear all throughout scripture that we are created and “knit or woven together” by God for His purposes, plans or as some call it: destiny.
Now let’s take this a step further. What I’m about to tell you may seem like common sense, but let’s get real…when feelings, emotions and desires get involved—common sense often goes out the window.
Who you “tie yourself” to or get in a relationship with will directly impact your purpose. So when you are single and considering if you should or shouldn’t date “whoever they are”—consider this first.
It’s more than your love life that’s at stake, it’s your life purpose.
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow but for now, take time to study + pray over the verses for today to help us better understand that God truly does have plans for our lives.
Day 2
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Proverbs 4:23, Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 12:2, Matthew 19:6, Philippians 2:2
PERSON
You shouldn’t have to choose between a person or a purpose. I believe God wants us to have both. As Jesus says in John 10:10 “I have come to give you life, and life to the full.”
When it comes to God—who remember is the author and creator of life—people often look at His guidance for us or commands to us as rules that are just restricting our fun. I cannot tell you how far from the truth this is. Simply put—He is a good father, who knows the plans He has for us and knows what’s best for us. He also knows our nature is to reach for what won’t ultimately be good for us.
Side note: Anybody remember back in the garden of Eden, there was that one tree amongst alllll the rest of amazing trees that humans were free to eat from and yet they just had to have the one thing that wasn’t meant for them? Come on, let’s finally learn this lesson.
God has good plans for your life and he knows what’s best. He knows who will help you along the way, support you, encourage you and vice versa. He also knows who or what will harm you, distract or detour you and ultimately discourage you—even if they look good—like that apple.
Sampson fell into this same trap. In Judges 14:3, even though he was not supposed to marry a philistine woman from an opposing faith, he literally told his parents to “go get her for me—she looks good.”
For anyone who says they are a follower of Jesus, a believer who wants to walk in God’s purposes; the Bible is clear about who we should be in a relationship with. Those who are walking in the same direction of us spiritually.
Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Bottom line. If you are a Christian—date other Christians, marry a Christian. It’s never supposed to be all about our feelings, in fact if we were to live by our feelings most of us would destroy our own lives. The world says “follow your heart,” Jesus says “guard your heart” + “follow me.”
If you want to fulfill your purpose, are you willing to follow His path? The person you are meant to be with won’t be hard to find. How do I know? Because they will be walking in the same direction you are, headed to the same destination. It’s only a matter of time if you are willing to wait.
Day 3
Scriptures: Judges 15:18, Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19, Judges 15:14, Isaiah 41:10, Ephesians 6:10, 1 Chronicles 29:12
SAMPSON’S STRENGTH
Before we get into the practical application or lessons we can learn from Sampson, I encourage you to go read on your own in the book of Judges chapters 13-16 to get an overview of his story.
Heads up though, it’s kinda wild, times were different and it’s definitely not rated PG. Consequently, he’s not your typical hero, rather more of an anti-hero. He and others in this story made lots of choices that didn’t follow God’s plan and experienced much unnecessary pain because of it.
Alright, if you aren’t familiar with Sampson, let’s just start out by saying he was really buff. He was gifted with superhuman-like strength. Technically it was supernatural physical strength from God.
Several times you will see the phrase, “but the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Sampson…” and then he would do something crazy like kill a lion, tie a torch to foxes tails in pairs, light them on fire, and set them loose in the wheat fields to destroy the philistine crops…kill 1,000 of the enemy’s men with a jawbone of a donkey—you get the idea.
Today we will keep it simple here so you can check out the context of his story. Again, Judges 13-16.
The main thing I want to highlight is that even through all of his success and failures, Sampson knew where His strength came from. After a bit of bragging about his battle feat, he shows us in Judges 15:18 that he ultimately understood it wasn’t his own power at work but the Lord’s through him.
May we never forget where our strength comes from as well.
Day. 4
Scripture: Judges 16:1-21
Sampson’s Weakness
Yesterday, we learned how powerful Sampson was physically because the Lord’s Spirit was upon him. However, Sampson also had a great area of weakness. It was because of his choices in this area that we see devastating consequences of a life painfully derailed.
His weakness was something that many of us can relate to: sex and relationships.
For Sampson, it was the women he kept getting involved with. We can read in his story several places where he chooses to go against the advice of his parents and God’s design for who to get involved with. In Judges chapter 16, Sampson has a one night stand with a prostitute and then chases after yet another woman who doesn’t share his faith background and actually is part of the philistine enemy they are at war with.
Told you—common sense straight-out-the window.
Short version: Sampson falls in love with this woman named Delilah. His feelings for her are so strong that he seems unwilling to face the facts that their relationship is toxic and she will continue to hurt him over and over again. Delilah betrays him in some pretty obvious ways but yet Sampson keeps letting her make excuses and convince him to stay. Anyone relate?
In Judges 16:15, she uses his intense emotional connection to manipulate him by saying “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me?”
Ok, hold up for a second and think about that statement. If anyone in your life tries to get you to do something that isn’t right by saying “If you really love me you will do this for me,”…stop in your tracks and consider how things ended up for him.
We need to learn this lesson from Sampson’s life and quit ignoring the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship. The truth is, Sampson tried to “stay strong” for as long as he could and protect the purpose God created him for, but the longer he stayed in a bad relationship, the less he could resist.
Sampson finally gives in to Delilah and that’s when the bible says she brought him down and his strength left him. It’s sad to me how Sampson still thought he could figure a way out or save himself but he didn’t realize until it was too late that the Lord’s power had left him. What happens next is truly tragic.
Go check it out in Judges 16:1-21. I think it’s appropriate for us to not rush past the gravity of what it cost Sampson because he chose to live by his desires instead of trusting in God’s design.
Day 5
Scriptures: Judges 16:22-30, 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:37-39, Psalms 103:8, Psalms 51:1-19
SECOND CHANCES
God had given specific instructions to be followed by Sampson in order for him to access the supernatural strength from the Lord. One of those instructions we haven’t talked about yet was how his hair was never to be cut. Now, the point I want to make is that after Delilah had the enemy warriors cut off Sampson’s hair and he lost his strength; there is one verse in the midst of his downfall that is way too important to miss.
Judges 16:22 “But before long, his hair began to grow back.”
I love this verse. Just a few simple words that remind us that our God is a God mercy and second chances. It says Sampson’s hair began to grow back. Even though the story doesn’t end the way any of us would prefer, it’s vital to hold onto this truth as we seek to follow the Lord throughout our life. Why? Because at some point we will all fall, mess up and make mistakes.
When that happens, does that mean it’s over for us? Does it mean we miss out on all the good that could have been and we should just give up—forget what God has called us to and created us for? Absolutely not.
The love and forgiveness of our Savior is greater, wider, and deeper than we will ever know. He can take our sins and struggles and offer us second chances when we turn to Him. Just like he did for Sampson. As Sampson’s hair grew back, so did his strength.
I want to take a moment and remind you of just a few of the incredible people in the Bible that made a huge impact on history yet also made some big mistakes as well.
How it started: First, this guy was known as “Saul” and he had a dangerous reputation of persecuting Christians with a zeal to destroy any and all who followed ‘”The Way’” of Jesus.
How it ended: Transformed by an encounter with Jesus he was renamed to Paul. Now considered one of the greatest apostles of the early church—who through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ended up writing many books of the New Testament.
How it started: Rahab was a Prostitute. I don’t think I need to say more.
How it ended: In a courageous act of faith Rahab, not only risked her life to rescue two spies in God’s army, but ended up redeeming the legacy of her family line. The Savior of the world would one day come from her heritage.
Then there’s David. The Giant slayer, musician, lover, fighter, king, worshiper. He had it all and messed up—BIG.TIME. Yet because of his repentant heart of confession, willingness to turn away from sin, and accept the consequences he also continued walking in great anointing, victory and purpose for all of his days.
As you consider what you want in life, no matter what has happened in your past relationships, you have this moment to decide if you will let God lead and guide your future.
Our God is full of compassion and love. He is waiting for you to reach out for a second chance. Today, if you feel lost or weak—wherever you need a fresh start—pray to God just like Sampson did in his final victory and ask for strength one more time.