It wasn’t too long after Gideon died that Israel began to (1) forget the Lord, (2) turned back to serving idols, and (3) was judged by God again. The Phillistines (1) ransacked the crops of Israel, (2) took away all their weapons and (3) made life miserable for the Israelites.

Even though the Bible does not say that the Israelites cried to the Lord for deliverance, yet God began to work for them. He sent the Angel of the Lord to a godly couple living in a tiny mountain village to tell them that they would have a son. This son would begin the deliverance of the people of Israel from their Phillistine enemies. But his parents would have to raise him in a special way. In order to do God’s work he was to (1) Let his hair grow long, (2) Never drink wine or strong drink, and (3) Never touch dead things.
When he was born his parents named him Samson, which means “little son,” but he grew up to be a very strong man.

One day when a ferocious lion leaped out and attacked him, Samson seized the lion by its jaws and tore it in two. The Bible says, “The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him in power.” (NIV). With just his bare hands he tore that lion to pieces. That’s the kind of strength God gave him. (14:5-6)

Another time the Philistines made him angry, so Samson hunted up 300 foxes, tied their tails together to hold flaming torches and turned them loose to burn the Philistine grain field and vineyards. The Philistines hated Samson, but they couldn’t catch him. (15:3-8)
Once Samson’s own people sent three thousand men to bind him and give him over to the Philistines. Samson let them bind him with new strong cords and turn him over to his enemies. When the Philistines saw him, they shouted and were glad to have him as a prisoner, but the “Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson (in power)” and Samson broke those strong cords as easily as we could snap a thread. (15:8-14)
Before the shouts of the Philistines had died away, Samson grabbed the jawbone of a donkey which lay nearby and swung it left and right with lightning speed until a thousand soldiers lay dead at his feet. The 3,000 men of Judah, the Israelites, fled from Samson so this was a lonely victory for him. He was left by himself dying of thirst. If he couldn’t get water, the Philistines would have won after all. So Samson called upon the Lord and said, “You have given me this victory and now shall I die of thirst and be captured by the Philistines?”

God knew how lonely and weak Samson was and took care of His servant. He answered Samson’s prayer by opening a rock and bringing a stream of water from it. Samson drank of the water and was refreshed. Samson knew that both his strength and his energy came from the Lord. (15:15-19)

If God could use Samson, what will He do through you and me? Samson was just one man, but God used him to lead and help Israel for twenty years. When Samson’s own countrymen failed him, God remained faithful to him.

God had a plan for Samson and God has a plan for you. You have a service to do for God. Just think—God made a plan for your life long before you were born. It is a wonderful plan, the very best that could be made. How do we respond to God in light of His loving care for us? Giant Self will try to get you to think only about yourself. He will make this big “I” very big indeed, so that you will think about yourself, talk about yourself, plan for yourself, and think very little about others or about God. This “I” gives all of us trouble. When we become Christians, the life of the Lord Jesus is in us, but the big “I” does not leave us. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” This verse tells us how we may have victory over this giant. The word “Submit” means to “give in.” When two people want the same thing very much and one gives in to the other, he submits to the other. Our verse says that we are to submit to God, and we are to submit a certain thing to Him. SUBMIT YOURSELVES. Well, can you explain what it means when a soldier surrenders in battle? What does that word “surrender” mean? …..Yes, it means “give oneself up” and “cease from resistance” or “submit.”.

As Christians we “surrender” our lives to the Lord. You can ask Him to use you this week at home and at school. He will make your life useful. Every morning and many times during the day you can say to the Lord, “I submit myself to You now.”

When Christ was here on earth He submitted Himself to His Father in everything. We must have God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour from sin before we can have His power. There may be some who have never trusted Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. The Bible says, “He who has the Son has life, and He who has not the Son, has not life.” (1 John 5:12)

Let me explain this verse. I’ll use this gray heart to show that when we are born we do not have Christ…and we do not have life in our spirit. In other words, our spirit is dead toward God. But as soon as we trust Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, then we have Christ…and we have life in our spirit. Then we want to know God and obey Him.
The invitation today is that you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
(1) Tell Him that you know you have displeased Him, and (2) Thank the Father for providing the way for the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for sinners, and rose again.

Prayer:
Father, we ask for strength to live in a way that pleases you at home and at school. We thank you for Your Word, and we ask that you draw any that do not know you unto yourself.