Treasures in Heaven
(Matthew 6:19-20)
19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.
Our strength comes from God.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 27:1
Have you ever noticed that the great superheroes in comics or cartoons always have something where their strength is concentrated?
Iron Man, for example, has a motorized suit of armor that allows him to fly and gives him great strength. Thor has a magic hammer that allows him to do things others wouldn't.
And you? What is your strength? Would you like to be strong, full of powers? And does not having a superpower make you a loser? Of course!
Today we're going to learn a lesson about a man who was very strong, a hairy hero, who wasn't very intelligent, no.
He thought his strength would make him victorious in everything, but in the end, he truly discovered where the strength that made him victorious came from.
Shall we get to know each other?
Samson Turned Away from God and Could No Longer Do Things Right
Bible Reference: Judges 16:1–32
The Bible tells the story of a woman who deeply wanted to have a child but could not become pregnant.
One day, she received a visit from an angel, who said:
—You will have a son, and he will be dedicated to God. His hair must never be cut, and the power of the Lord God will be with him.
A person who is dedicated means someone set apart by God for a special purpose. Wow! How happy this mother must have felt when she heard that! And it happened just as the angel said. She had a son and named him Samson.
Samson was blessed by God from the day he was born. He grew up and became a very strong man. No one could defeat Samson.
And do you know what his mission was? To deliver the people of Israel from the power of the Philistines.
At that time, the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, a people from Philistia, a region near Israel.
The Philistines tried to capture Samson in every possible way because, with his great strength, he always stopped them from advancing against Israel.
There was a time when the Philistines almost captured Samson, but he tore down the city gates with his own hands and escaped. Wow—he was incredibly strong!
The Philistines, frustrated, were always looking for a way to defeat Samson. But God delivered Samson and the Israelites from all the harm of this enemy people.
Samson was very powerful when he was being used by God.
Once, he tore apart a lion with his bare hands and killed it!
On another occasion, he defeated a thousand Philistine soldiers using only the jawbone of a dead animal he found on the road.
Can you imagine fighting a thousand soldiers and winning using only a bone?
But as time passed, Samson became so impressed with his strength and power that he began to think he was “the man.” That was not good!
He started living however he wanted. He no longer cared about God’s guidance or his family’s advice. This led Samson farther and farther away from God, so much so that he didn’t even realize it anymore. And it is not possible to live far from God.
To make matters worse, Samson decided to marry a woman from the enemy people of God—a Philistine woman.
The Israelites and the Philistines were enemies, remember?
Even though Samson knew that the people of Israel were not supposed to marry women from outside their people, he disobeyed. He got married and fell into a trap, becoming the husband of Delilah, a woman who pretended to love him.
Samson had a secret: his hair had never been cut, because he knew that if it were cut, he would lose his strength.
But Delilah, being his wife, tricked him, and Samson ended up revealing his great secret.
After discovering what made Samson so strong and undefeated, the enemy, with Delilah’s help, managed to cut his hair.
As a result, he was captured by his enemies, who severely injured his eyes and mistreated him. How sad!
But at that moment, Samson remembered how God had blessed him in the past when he was close to Him.
Then Samson recognized his mistake, prayed, and desperately asked God to allow him to defeat his enemies, even if it meant dying with them.
It was then, during a great celebration of the Philistines, that they brought Samson out to humiliate him in front of everyone, like a trophy. They chained his arms to the central pillars of the temple so all could see him.
Samson’s hair had grown again, and he regretted everything he had done. He was very sad.
Then Samson prayed to God and asked for one more chance:
—Lord, remember me. Give me your strength again.
He pushed against the pillars, and with great effort, he brought the entire temple down.
God answered him. Samson embraced the pillars and with enormous effort brought down the entire temple.
The Philistines were defeated and killed along with Samson, but before that, Samson discovered that his strength came solely from God.
What an incredible story!
What did you learn from the story of Samson?
God made Samson strong for the purpose of using him to bless the Israelite people.
But at a certain point, Samson began to think that he would always win because of his physical strength. He forgot that his strength came from God.
Samson renounced living a life according to God's will to do his own will, and look what happened: he was shamed and had to die along with his enemies.
However, our God is wonderful and never abandons us. Samson repented, God forgave him, and made him victorious once again.
This story teaches us that when we turn away from God we become weak, but the closer we are to God, the stronger we will be.
Our strength lies in our faith in God. Our trust in the Lord must be great, not in ourselves!
It is TIME to PRAY
Dear God, thank you for always watching over me and showing me the best path. May I be strong through my faith in you, and not through my own strength. So I know I will overcome my problems. In Jesus' name, amen!
