Samson...

There could not be a more unlikely hero than Samson. He not only married a woman who was not an Israelite--he married someone who was from the enemy Philistine nation. He deceived his parents by giving them honey taken from a dead carcass. He murdered thirty men just to payoff a gambling debt. He exercised revenge by burning Philistine crops. He slept with a prostitute. And that's just the stuff that we know about. Yet, in spite of all that Samson did wrong, God used him in a mighty way. His secret? It's a lot more than just his hair. Notice these five verses:

• "...the Spirit of the Lord began to take hold of him" (Judges 13:25).
• "At that moment the Spirit of the Lord powerfully took control of him.." (Judges 14:6).
• "Then the Spirit of the Lord powerfully took control of him" (Judges 14:6).
• "Then the Spirit of the Lord powerfully took control of him" (Judges 14:19).
• "But the Spirit of the Lord powerfully took control of Samson..." (Judges 15:14).

May the Spirit of the Lord take hold of me as well...