In the popular TV series LOST, a character named Sayid Jarrah was an airplane crash survivor and castaway on a mysterious tropical island. As a former military interrogator, he was haunted by those he tortured and spent much of his adult life trying to atone for his past mistakes.
At the start of LOST’s final season, Sayid died from a gunshot wound. He was resuscitated, however, by an evil character (the unnamed man in black) and recruited to the dark side. But just when viewers were convinced that he had given himself completely over to evil, he sacrificed his life to save his fellow crash survivors.
That shocking twist (something LOST fans were accustomed to seeing) takes me back to the Old Testament character Samson. Remember him? The long-haired Nazirite, endowed by God’s Spirit with super-human strength to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines? (Judges 13:5). Unfortunately, Samson became full of himself and fell prey to manipulation by the woman he loved (Judges 16:4). Eventually, Delilah coaxed him into divulging the secret of his strength, which she then used to betray him into the hands of his enemies (Judges 16:5-21).
Samson’s foolish pride left him blind, weak, and in shackles. Publicly disgraced and chained between two massive pillars supporting the roof of a crowded Philistine temple, Samson humbled himself and asked God for one last feat of super-human strength. God granted Samson’s request. And with one mighty push, Samson brought down the temple, destroying more enemies in his death than he did while he was alive (Judges 16:23-30).
Samson’s life shows it’s never too late to come back to God and do something great for Him. Even after we make huge mistakes, our lives can still be redeemed for His purposes.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 5:13-6:27
More:
Read John 21:15-17 and notice how Jesus shows Peter, who denied Him three times, that He was not done with him.
Next:
In what ways do you need to come back to God? What makes it possible for you to return to Him?
jstabel on March 2, 2011 at 2:55 am
with God no mistake is unforgiveable if only we confess and forsake them.
R R Kelkar on March 2, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Yes, God is indeed ever-forgiving. He forgives us and renews us, even when we do wrong things knowingly and repeatedly.
jeff olson on March 3, 2011 at 9:52 am
It’s even just as remarkable that God still uses us after a colossal failure…with God failure is never final.
daisymarygoldr on March 3, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Samson is one of my favorite heroes who demonstrated great faith. Even before he was conceived in his mother’s womb Samson was set apart to fulfill God’s purpose. His assigned task was to initiate the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5).
As the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him (Judges 13: 25), Samson was single-minded in his calling to fight against the Philistines. In the escapades with all those pretty pagan women, Samson was being led by God to look for an opportunity to work against the Philistines (Judges 14:4).
On every occasion, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him as he struck down thirty men in Ashkelon, destroyed the enemy’s crops, smote them with a great slaughter and struck down a thousand foes with the jawbone of an ass. In Gaza, the house of a prostitute served as the perfect place for Samson to stay in order to break the enemy’s town gates in the middle of the night.
The sovereign God sees the end from the beginning and was able to work out his purposes despite Samson’s mistakes with Delilah. We cannot however, escape reaping the consequences of our mistakes. Samson’s “lust of the eyes” led him to lose his eyes. And the loss of physical sight opened his spiritual eyes of faith. Samson realized the only way he could fulfill God’s purpose for him—was to give up his life.
And so he sacrificed his life to save his people. For, it was by faith Samson saw eternal life which God promised to give those who turn away from their sins (Ezek 18:27). Therefore, it was Samson’s faith that ultimately earned him a good reputation (Heb 11:39).
This is a perfect example of how God’s Spirit can empower the weakest vessel to accomplish His own predetermined purposes. It encourages a weak person like me to turn away from my sins and be faithful even in the midst of miserable failures—to do what God has called me to do.