Once a man named Manoah and his wife wished very much to have a child. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and said, "You will have a son. He is never to have his hair cut." Soon they had a boy and named him Samson. God gave him great strength and chose him to be the judge of Israel, because the people had once again forgotten the true God.

The Philistines rules over the Israelites, but the Lord gave Samson the strength to defeat them. Then Samson fell in love with a beautiful woman named Delilah.

"Delilah," said the Philistines, "find out the secret to Samson's strength, and we will reward you greatly."

One day when they were alone together, she said playfully, "Samson, what is the secret of your strength? What would someone have to do to defeat you?"

"If you were to tie me with seven leather cords, "Samson replied, "I would lose my strength."

Delilah waited until he was asleep and tied him up. Then she shouted, "The Philistines are here!" Samson woke up and broke the cords. He had not really told her his secret.

Three times she asked him the secret to his strength; three times Samson mislead her. At last he told her, "My hair has never been cut. Cut my hair, and I will be like any other man."

Delilah waited until Samson was asleep; then she cut his hair. The Philistines attacked him, and he lacked the strength to fight them. They captured him and made him a slave. But his hair began to grow again. The Philistines took Samson to their temple. He prayed to God, "Lord, give me the strength to punish the Philistines." Strength and power coursed through his body once more, and he pushed the pillars of the temple apart so that it crumbled to the ground. The roof of the temple fell and crushed Samson and the Philistines.

It is sad to be remembered for what one might have been. Samson had tremendous potential. Not many people have started life with credentials like his. Born as a result of God's plan in the lives of Manoah and his wife, Samson was to do a great work for God - to "begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." To help him accomplish God's plan, he was given enormous physical strength.

Because Samsom wasted his strength on practical jokes and getting out of scrapes, and because he eventually gave it up altogether to satisfy the woman he loved, we tend to see him as a failure. We remember him as the judge in Israel who spent his last days grinding grain in an enemy prison, and we say, "What wasted potential!"

Interestingly, the New Testament does not mention Samson's failures or his heroic feats of strength. In Hebrews, he is simply listed with others "who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised," and in other ways were given superhuman aid. In the end, Samson recognized his dependence on God. When he died, God turned his failures and defeats into victory.

Samson's story teaches us that it is never too late to start over. However badly we may have failed in the past, today is not too late for us to put our complete trust in God.

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