June 26, 2025 • 17 mins
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Have you ever wondered if God can use your flaws—even your anger—for His divine purpose? In this soul-stirring episode, we dive deep into the wild and often misunderstood story of Samson from Judges 14-15, discovering how God works through imperfect vessels.
Samson's journey parallels this truth in extraordinary ways. We explore how this flawed hero—impulsive, vengeful, and often reckless—became God's chosen instrument for Israel's deliverance. From his attraction to a Philistine woman (which Scripture explicitly says was "from the Lord") to his vengeful destruction of enemy fields and his jaw-dropping victory with a donkey's jawbone, Samson's story reveals profound spiritual lessons for today's believers.
Join me in this powerful exploration of how God works through our weaknesses, transforms our shortcomings, and uses even our anger to fulfill His greater purpose. Your imperfections don't disqualify you from God's plan—they might just be the very things He uses most powerfully.
Key Passages Judges 14 & 15
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode60.
This week's devotional istitled when Anger Fuels your
Purpose the Wild Story of Samson, part 2.
Let's go.
Hi.
I'm Jesse Morgan.
I used to just share home decorand renovation tips on social
media, but now I'm sharingsomething even closer to my
(00:21):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hot
Podcast.
This is a weekly devotional.
I started back in May 2024, butthe inspiration for it came
much earlier.
It was rooted in a faithjourney that began when my
daughter was born, four monthsearly in 2023.
Through that challenging time,god worked in ways that truly
(00:43):
amazed me.
On this podcast, I sharepersonal stories of faith, woven
together with scripture, toshow just how incredible God's
word can be in our everydaylives.
My hope is that through thesestories, you'll be encouraged,
uplifted and reminded of God'slove and presence, no matter
what you're going through.
So I invite you to spend lessthan 15 minutes with me each
(01:05):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within whenAnger Fuels your Purpose the
Wild Story of Samson, part 2.
Key passages Judges 14 and 15.
Hello everyone and welcome backto the podcast.
So excited for you all to behere listening to the Word of
(01:25):
God.
Life is good, the week is great.
Let's get going.
We're picking up, we're stillfocusing in on Judges and now
we're focusing on Samson.
Of course, and this should be afun two chapters.
I had a whole differentperspective on Samson and I
think it's kind of changed a bit, but it's amazing how God can
just enlighten you throughscripture.
(01:47):
So let's get it going.
This might be a littlecontroversial to start off, but
let's start.
So sometimes your anger canreally push you forward in a
good way.
Yep, I said it my anger or youranger, sometimes, when you lose
your temper and the not soperfect side of you comes out.
(02:08):
It's not ideal, it cansometimes be unacceptable, for
sure.
But there are moments when eventhat raw, imperfect, heated
reaction can be the very thingthat pushes you to the next
level.
And you know what God willstill use that he can take your
imperfect self and yourimperfect response and still
(02:30):
work through it.
He forgives it, he redeems itand he can still turn it around
for good.
Now that might sound a littlecontroversial, but as we step
into these next two chapters ofSamson's life.
I think that truth pretty muchsums it up.
Before we dive into his story,let me tell you about an
(02:50):
imperfect moment of my life, onewhere my anger definitely came
out, but it ended up pushing meforward and it also gave me a
bad reputation a bit at work,sorry.
Anyways, for those who are newhere, I worked for Macy's for
eight years in retail and duringthat time I was relocated to
(03:10):
the New York City store, theflagship on 34th Street, herald
Square, and you know it's hugeit's literally two blocks long
and massive sales volume.
I ran operations and supportfor women's handbags and
accessories on the main floorsuper busy, especially on the
Broadway side of the building.
And to paint the picture foryou a little bit more, michael
(03:36):
Kors handbags that was thenumber two brand in the building
.
The year I got there it clocked25 million in sales.
It was a big deal.
I had a team of about 30 justfor Michael Kors and another 60
to 70 for the rest of handbagsand accessory business.
Now we didn't have enoughstorage space on the main floor
(03:59):
for a bit or in the basement.
So our overflow of stock forMichael Kors, calvin Klein,
guess all of the big brands werestored up on the 10th floor.
But here's where the problemcame in.
There was literally one serviceelevator to get up there One
and guess who?
We had to share it with thecosmetics and fragrance teams.
(04:21):
I remember my stock guy Mikeyreal New Yorker, real raw love
him to this day, though he kepttelling me yo, the cosmetics
team hogs the elevator boss, wecan never get up there.
It's always a fight, and I wasnew to the area at the time so I
didn't really believe him untilI saw it for myself.
(04:43):
Guys, y'all, we waited 25minutes for the elevator.
The cosmetics team would takeit from the sub-basement up to
their main floor, unload theirproducts, walk the floor, do
their thing, talk and leave theelevator door open so nobody
(05:04):
could use it.
Remember, it's an old-schoolservice elevator, probably older
than my parents.
This was no high tech system,it was ridiculous.
After two days of dealing withthat, I lost it, and I'm a
pretty calm person by nature.
For the most part it depends,but this, oh, no, no, no, no.
(05:27):
We were the second highestvolume and highest revenue
driving area in the entire store.
Only Polo Ralph Lauren beat usin sales.
So how were we not a priorityfor cosmetics.
(05:52):
He was like the main boss ofall the stock guys.
I walked into a room of about 15men Imagine big warehouse,
energy, okay and I could tell.
They didn't know who I was,probably thought I was lost or
kind of cute or both.
I introduced myself straight upand I said I'm the merchandise
manager for women's handbags andaccessories, the number two
business in this building.
You could hear a pin drop.
I told them, or I told thereceiving team manager.
(06:15):
The elevator situation wasunacceptable and I was blunt.
I said, look, if this doesn'tget fixed, I'm taking the
elevator and you will never seeit again.
And I mean it.
I was bold, especially being ayoung woman, but sometimes you
have to step up, even when youranger is fueling it.
And guess what?
I inherited another stockperson and made them responsible
(06:37):
for running the elevator fromlike 8.30 in the morning to like
5 pm daily.
The beauty team had nothing tosay, they couldn't fight it.
But that wasn't the onlysituation the next day.
That was such a really intenseweek for me.
Anyways, the next day after thatsituation, I ran into another
merchandise manager, a younggirl.
(06:58):
She managed men's active, whichwas a huge business.
Her stock room was next to mineon the 10th floor.
I knew we were about to get hitwith about 8,000 units of
handbags yes, 8,000.
But her team and active hadleft 40 plus rods of merchandise
just sitting there for days,blocking the space.
(07:21):
I emailed her days prior to getthem back, stocked or moved.
No response.
I tried to be nice.
I approached her, asked for aplan.
She basically shrugged me offand told me I have to deal with
it.
Whew, at that point my patiencefor the week was gone.
But instead of lashing out rightaway, I channeled that anger
(07:44):
differently.
I got up at 4 am the nextmorning, took the train in and
personally backstocked all 40 ofher rods myself.
It took me about two and a halfhours and I just backstocked it
.
I didn't put it organized, Ijust shoved it in there.
My team showed up later thatmorning shocked Boss, what are
you doing here this early?
(08:05):
I told them I made space soy'all could process the new
shipment.
Their faces were like shocked,of course.
When that merchandise managerfrom men's came in looking for
her stock, I told her directly Ibackstocked your stuff.
Took me about two and a halfhours.
Your team could have done it inone.
You're welcome.
And I walked out.
(08:25):
I was not playing After thatsituation, I was known as the B
word on the 10th floor or themean pretty handbags manager.
Ha Well, that week my anger andresponse was not perfect, but it
pushed me to act, to protect myteam, to solve the problem.
(08:46):
It wasn't about pride, it wasabout doing what was right for
the business.
It wasn't about pride, it wasabout doing what was right for
the business and, honestly, thatfire, god still used it and he
used it for me to this day.
So, which brings me to Samson,his anger, his flaws.
God still used him.
We're about to see how in thenext two chapters.
(09:08):
So we're about to see all thisin the next two chapters, to see
how in the next two chapters.
So we're about to see all thisin the next two chapters.
So buckle up, because sometimesyour imperfections, even your
temper, are part of the storyGod is writing for you.
So let's set the scene.
Judges 14,.
Samson, the strongest man inthe Bible, sees a woman from the
enemy camp, the Philistines,and says to his parents get her
(09:28):
for me, she's the one I want.
Now his parents are confused.
But here's the twist.
The Bible literally says,within the midst of the verses
at this time, at this part, itsays this was from the Lord who
was seeking an occasion toconfront the Philistines Judges
14.4.
Even in Samson's impulsivechoice, god had a plan brewing.
(09:50):
Even in Samson's impulsivechoice, god had a plan brewing.
Fast forward On his way to meetthis Philistine woman, samson
kills a lion with his bare hands.
Thanks to the spirit of the Lordcoming on him, he then meets
(10:14):
the woman he wants to marrywhere this Philistine woman, his
future wife, was living.
He stopped off the road to seethe carcass of that lion he had
killed.
Imagine this was like a weeklater or something.
And so he goes up to thecarcass of the lion and he finds
honey inside the lion's carcass.
Strange, right, we will discuss.
At the wedding.
(10:37):
Samson throws out a riddle.
But when the Philistines cheatto solve it by pressuring his
wife, samson's angry and it justboils over.
He storms off, kills 30Philistines and walks away from
his own wedding feast.
And it gets messier.
In Judges 15, samson returnsonly to find his wife was given
(10:59):
to someone else, returns only tofind his wife was given to
someone else.
Furious, he releases 300 foxeswith their tails set on fire
into the Philistine fields,destroying all their crops.
They retaliated by killing hiswife and her family.
Fueled by rage, samson strikesdown more Philistines, even when
(11:19):
his own people turned him overto the enemy.
Samson breaks free with thespirit of the Lord, grabs a
donkey's jawbone and literallykills a thousand men.
Uh y'all.
Was Samson reckless?
Absolutely.
Was he perfect?
Not even close.
But was God still working Everystep of the way?
(11:41):
He was delivering his peoplethrough the anger of Samson and
his perfections.
Here's the reminder for us today.
Sometimes God allowsfrustration, anger and even
heartbreak to stir something inus.
It doesn't justify sin, but itshows that even in our lowest,
rawest moments he's not donewriting our story.
(12:01):
Maybe you're in a season whereyour emotions feel out of
control.
Maybe you act in ways youregret.
But if God could use Samsonflaws, anger and all, he can use
you too.
Those situations I faced backin New York at the store prepped
me for tough conversations whenI got into higher executive
roles as well as just doing thispodcast.
(12:23):
Sometimes I have to sayunpopular things to get the
point across.
Boldness is what I took fromthose encounters in my life.
Maybe I didn't have to be soforceful with the beauty manager
, for example, but that flaw Godforgave and used it to
strengthen my confidence and myabilities as a manager, and I'm
so grateful for that.
(12:44):
Before we conclude today, I justwant to share three lessons
from the story of Samson, and Ihope you can take it with you
and cherish it.
You know these three points Ijust want you to really focus in
on.
So.
Number one imperfect people andtheir flaws can be used by God
still.
Number one imperfect people andtheir flaws can be used by God
still.
You are capable of so much morewith the Lord, regardless.
(13:09):
Number two your strength comesfrom the Lord, nothing else.
This is important because inscripture, twice in Samson's
story it says the spirit of theLord came upon him.
It's said it in Judges 14.6,when he went up against the lion
, and in Judges 15.4, when hewas handed over to the
Philistines the first time, andthen he killeda thousand men.
Samson became strong when hewas challenged and needed.
(13:33):
So strength comes from the Lord, nothing else.
And number three this was a bigone.
Even in a tough, frustratingsituation, something sweet can
come out of it.
Interesting, right.
This is where I'm going withthis.
This story in Judges 14.9 is oneof my favorites for the exact
reason.
Samson returns to the DeadLions caucus and finds bees and
(13:58):
fresh honey inside.
He eats some and even bringssome for his parents to eat.
At first this blew my mind.
If you listen to last week'smessage, you'll remember that
Samson was raised as a Naziriteand part of the Nazirite vow,
which is found in number six, isto stay away from dead bodies.
That was a clear rule forsomeone to be set apart for the
(14:21):
Lord.
And yet Samson touches the deadlion, takes the honey and eats
it.
It feels reckless, doesn't it?
And at first my firstimpression was that.
But when I sat with this storylonger and it started to mean so
much more, the honey representsnourishment, it represents
blessing, and even when thereare rules, even when you have
(14:44):
enemies, even when things seembroken or lifeless, god can
still bring something sweet outof it.
I love the way this momentreflects how God works, how
scripture can meet you indifferent seasons, you know, for
new meanings.
Sure, samson broke rules, butGod still used that moment to
remind us sweet things can stillcome out of the hard places,
(15:06):
even when the enemy's attack,even when the enemy's attack is
just really hard.
So be encouraged.
Even when you're standing infront of what feels like a dead
situation, god still is able tobring something sweet out of it.
So in the midst of an ugly pastsituation, you know God is
there to pick up the pieces withyou and bless you with
(15:29):
something sweet if you put yourfaith and strength in him.
So these, you know, those hardtemper, mental New York
situations were blessings for me.
I took it.
I took off in my career inretail a few years later and
that boldness God blessed mewith made me leave retail and
enter a new career in tech.
I'm so grateful I took thatchance and that's all God.
(15:53):
So Samson's shortfalls andtemper wasn't great, but God
still used it for a purpose todeliver his people from the
Philistines.
So more to come next week, godbless.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for loving useven when we're messy.
Thank you that you see beyondour reactions and weaknesses.
(16:14):
Help us to surrender even ouranger to you and trust that you
can work through every part ofour story to fulfill your
purpose.
Father, we thank you so muchfor accepting our anger, our
frustrations and being able tohelp us learn from it to become
better people.
And Father, we love you and wethank you so much for the study
(16:36):
of Samson.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
All right, my friends, that isit for this week.
God bless, and see you nextweek for Samson part three,
because it just keeps gettingbetter and better.
It's like a soap opera.
It just continues to put you onthe edge of your seat.
It's like I have my popcorn.
I'm ready to watch this wholedrama unfold Till next time.
(16:58):
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.
If this episode encouraged you,please share it with someone
who might need the same messageand don't forget to subscribe so
you never miss a weekly episode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be
so appreciated as well.
(17:18):
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff.
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode60.
This week's devotional istitled when Anger Fuels your
Purpose the Wild Story of Samson, part 2.
Let's go.
Hi.
I'm Jesse Morgan.
I used to just share home decorand renovation tips on social
media, but now I'm sharingsomething even closer to my
(00:21):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hot
Podcast.
This is a weekly devotional.
I started back in May 2024, butthe inspiration for it came
much earlier.
It was rooted in a faithjourney that began when my
daughter was born, four monthsearly in 2023.
Through that challenging time,god worked in ways that truly
(00:43):
amazed me.
On this podcast, I sharepersonal stories of faith, woven
together with scripture, toshow just how incredible God's
word can be in our everydaylives.
My hope is that through thesestories, you'll be encouraged,
uplifted and reminded of God'slove and presence, no matter
what you're going through.
So I invite you to spend lessthan 15 minutes with me each
(01:05):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within whenAnger Fuels your Purpose the
Wild Story of Samson, part 2.
Key passages Judges 14 and 15.
Hello everyone and welcome backto the podcast.
So excited for you all to behere listening to the Word of
(01:25):
God.
Life is good, the week is great.
Let's get going.
We're picking up, we're stillfocusing in on Judges and now
we're focusing on Samson.
Of course, and this should be afun two chapters.
I had a whole differentperspective on Samson and I
think it's kind of changed a bit, but it's amazing how God can
just enlighten you throughscripture.
(01:47):
So let's get it going.
This might be a littlecontroversial to start off, but
let's start.
So sometimes your anger canreally push you forward in a
good way.
Yep, I said it my anger or youranger, sometimes, when you lose
your temper and the not soperfect side of you comes out.
(02:08):
It's not ideal, it cansometimes be unacceptable, for
sure.
But there are moments when eventhat raw, imperfect, heated
reaction can be the very thingthat pushes you to the next
level.
And you know what God willstill use that he can take your
imperfect self and yourimperfect response and still
(02:30):
work through it.
He forgives it, he redeems itand he can still turn it around
for good.
Now that might sound a littlecontroversial, but as we step
into these next two chapters ofSamson's life.
I think that truth pretty muchsums it up.
Before we dive into his story,let me tell you about an
(02:50):
imperfect moment of my life, onewhere my anger definitely came
out, but it ended up pushing meforward and it also gave me a
bad reputation a bit at work,sorry.
Anyways, for those who are newhere, I worked for Macy's for
eight years in retail and duringthat time I was relocated to
(03:10):
the New York City store, theflagship on 34th Street, herald
Square, and you know it's hugeit's literally two blocks long
and massive sales volume.
I ran operations and supportfor women's handbags and
accessories on the main floorsuper busy, especially on the
Broadway side of the building.
And to paint the picture foryou a little bit more, michael
(03:36):
Kors handbags that was thenumber two brand in the building
.
The year I got there it clocked25 million in sales.
It was a big deal.
I had a team of about 30 justfor Michael Kors and another 60
to 70 for the rest of handbagsand accessory business.
Now we didn't have enoughstorage space on the main floor
(03:59):
for a bit or in the basement.
So our overflow of stock forMichael Kors, calvin Klein,
guess all of the big brands werestored up on the 10th floor.
But here's where the problemcame in.
There was literally one serviceelevator to get up there One
and guess who?
We had to share it with thecosmetics and fragrance teams.
(04:21):
I remember my stock guy Mikeyreal New Yorker, real raw love
him to this day, though he kepttelling me yo, the cosmetics
team hogs the elevator boss, wecan never get up there.
It's always a fight, and I wasnew to the area at the time so I
didn't really believe him untilI saw it for myself.
(04:43):
Guys, y'all, we waited 25minutes for the elevator.
The cosmetics team would takeit from the sub-basement up to
their main floor, unload theirproducts, walk the floor, do
their thing, talk and leave theelevator door open so nobody
(05:04):
could use it.
Remember, it's an old-schoolservice elevator, probably older
than my parents.
This was no high tech system,it was ridiculous.
After two days of dealing withthat, I lost it, and I'm a
pretty calm person by nature.
For the most part it depends,but this, oh, no, no, no, no.
(05:27):
We were the second highestvolume and highest revenue
driving area in the entire store.
Only Polo Ralph Lauren beat usin sales.
So how were we not a priorityfor cosmetics.
(05:52):
He was like the main boss ofall the stock guys.
I walked into a room of about 15men Imagine big warehouse,
energy, okay and I could tell.
They didn't know who I was,probably thought I was lost or
kind of cute or both.
I introduced myself straight upand I said I'm the merchandise
manager for women's handbags andaccessories, the number two
business in this building.
You could hear a pin drop.
I told them, or I told thereceiving team manager.
(06:15):
The elevator situation wasunacceptable and I was blunt.
I said, look, if this doesn'tget fixed, I'm taking the
elevator and you will never seeit again.
And I mean it.
I was bold, especially being ayoung woman, but sometimes you
have to step up, even when youranger is fueling it.
And guess what?
I inherited another stockperson and made them responsible
(06:37):
for running the elevator fromlike 8.30 in the morning to like
5 pm daily.
The beauty team had nothing tosay, they couldn't fight it.
But that wasn't the onlysituation the next day.
That was such a really intenseweek for me.
Anyways, the next day after thatsituation, I ran into another
merchandise manager, a younggirl.
(06:58):
She managed men's active, whichwas a huge business.
Her stock room was next to mineon the 10th floor.
I knew we were about to get hitwith about 8,000 units of
handbags yes, 8,000.
But her team and active hadleft 40 plus rods of merchandise
just sitting there for days,blocking the space.
(07:21):
I emailed her days prior to getthem back, stocked or moved.
No response.
I tried to be nice.
I approached her, asked for aplan.
She basically shrugged me offand told me I have to deal with
it.
Whew, at that point my patiencefor the week was gone.
But instead of lashing out rightaway, I channeled that anger
(07:44):
differently.
I got up at 4 am the nextmorning, took the train in and
personally backstocked all 40 ofher rods myself.
It took me about two and a halfhours and I just backstocked it
.
I didn't put it organized, Ijust shoved it in there.
My team showed up later thatmorning shocked Boss, what are
you doing here this early?
(08:05):
I told them I made space soy'all could process the new
shipment.
Their faces were like shocked,of course.
When that merchandise managerfrom men's came in looking for
her stock, I told her directly Ibackstocked your stuff.
Took me about two and a halfhours.
Your team could have done it inone.
You're welcome.
And I walked out.
(08:25):
I was not playing After thatsituation, I was known as the B
word on the 10th floor or themean pretty handbags manager.
Ha Well, that week my anger andresponse was not perfect, but it
pushed me to act, to protect myteam, to solve the problem.
(08:46):
It wasn't about pride, it wasabout doing what was right for
the business.
It wasn't about pride, it wasabout doing what was right for
the business and, honestly, thatfire, god still used it and he
used it for me to this day.
So, which brings me to Samson,his anger, his flaws.
God still used him.
We're about to see how in thenext two chapters.
(09:08):
So we're about to see all thisin the next two chapters, to see
how in the next two chapters.
So we're about to see all thisin the next two chapters.
So buckle up, because sometimesyour imperfections, even your
temper, are part of the storyGod is writing for you.
So let's set the scene.
Judges 14,.
Samson, the strongest man inthe Bible, sees a woman from the
enemy camp, the Philistines,and says to his parents get her
(09:28):
for me, she's the one I want.
Now his parents are confused.
But here's the twist.
The Bible literally says,within the midst of the verses
at this time, at this part, itsays this was from the Lord who
was seeking an occasion toconfront the Philistines Judges
14.4.
Even in Samson's impulsivechoice, god had a plan brewing.
(09:50):
Even in Samson's impulsivechoice, god had a plan brewing.
Fast forward On his way to meetthis Philistine woman, samson
kills a lion with his bare hands.
Thanks to the spirit of the Lordcoming on him, he then meets
(10:14):
the woman he wants to marrywhere this Philistine woman, his
future wife, was living.
He stopped off the road to seethe carcass of that lion he had
killed.
Imagine this was like a weeklater or something.
And so he goes up to thecarcass of the lion and he finds
honey inside the lion's carcass.
Strange, right, we will discuss.
At the wedding.
(10:37):
Samson throws out a riddle.
But when the Philistines cheatto solve it by pressuring his
wife, samson's angry and it justboils over.
He storms off, kills 30Philistines and walks away from
his own wedding feast.
And it gets messier.
In Judges 15, samson returnsonly to find his wife was given
(10:59):
to someone else, returns only tofind his wife was given to
someone else.
Furious, he releases 300 foxeswith their tails set on fire
into the Philistine fields,destroying all their crops.
They retaliated by killing hiswife and her family.
Fueled by rage, samson strikesdown more Philistines, even when
(11:19):
his own people turned him overto the enemy.
Samson breaks free with thespirit of the Lord, grabs a
donkey's jawbone and literallykills a thousand men.
Uh y'all.
Was Samson reckless?
Absolutely.
Was he perfect?
Not even close.
But was God still working Everystep of the way?
(11:41):
He was delivering his peoplethrough the anger of Samson and
his perfections.
Here's the reminder for us today.
Sometimes God allowsfrustration, anger and even
heartbreak to stir something inus.
It doesn't justify sin, but itshows that even in our lowest,
rawest moments he's not donewriting our story.
(12:01):
Maybe you're in a season whereyour emotions feel out of
control.
Maybe you act in ways youregret.
But if God could use Samsonflaws, anger and all, he can use
you too.
Those situations I faced backin New York at the store prepped
me for tough conversations whenI got into higher executive
roles as well as just doing thispodcast.
(12:23):
Sometimes I have to sayunpopular things to get the
point across.
Boldness is what I took fromthose encounters in my life.
Maybe I didn't have to be soforceful with the beauty manager
, for example, but that flaw Godforgave and used it to
strengthen my confidence and myabilities as a manager, and I'm
so grateful for that.
(12:44):
Before we conclude today, I justwant to share three lessons
from the story of Samson, and Ihope you can take it with you
and cherish it.
You know these three points Ijust want you to really focus in
on.
So.
Number one imperfect people andtheir flaws can be used by God
still.
Number one imperfect people andtheir flaws can be used by God
still.
You are capable of so much morewith the Lord, regardless.
(13:09):
Number two your strength comesfrom the Lord, nothing else.
This is important because inscripture, twice in Samson's
story it says the spirit of theLord came upon him.
It's said it in Judges 14.6,when he went up against the lion
, and in Judges 15.4, when hewas handed over to the
Philistines the first time, andthen he killeda thousand men.
Samson became strong when hewas challenged and needed.
(13:33):
So strength comes from the Lord, nothing else.
And number three this was a bigone.
Even in a tough, frustratingsituation, something sweet can
come out of it.
Interesting, right.
This is where I'm going withthis.
This story in Judges 14.9 is oneof my favorites for the exact
reason.
Samson returns to the DeadLions caucus and finds bees and
(13:58):
fresh honey inside.
He eats some and even bringssome for his parents to eat.
At first this blew my mind.
If you listen to last week'smessage, you'll remember that
Samson was raised as a Naziriteand part of the Nazirite vow,
which is found in number six, isto stay away from dead bodies.
That was a clear rule forsomeone to be set apart for the
(14:21):
Lord.
And yet Samson touches the deadlion, takes the honey and eats
it.
It feels reckless, doesn't it?
And at first my firstimpression was that.
But when I sat with this storylonger and it started to mean so
much more, the honey representsnourishment, it represents
blessing, and even when thereare rules, even when you have
(14:44):
enemies, even when things seembroken or lifeless, god can
still bring something sweet outof it.
I love the way this momentreflects how God works, how
scripture can meet you indifferent seasons, you know, for
new meanings.
Sure, samson broke rules, butGod still used that moment to
remind us sweet things can stillcome out of the hard places,
(15:06):
even when the enemy's attack,even when the enemy's attack is
just really hard.
So be encouraged.
Even when you're standing infront of what feels like a dead
situation, god still is able tobring something sweet out of it.
So in the midst of an ugly pastsituation, you know God is
there to pick up the pieces withyou and bless you with
(15:29):
something sweet if you put yourfaith and strength in him.
So these, you know, those hardtemper, mental New York
situations were blessings for me.
I took it.
I took off in my career inretail a few years later and
that boldness God blessed mewith made me leave retail and
enter a new career in tech.
I'm so grateful I took thatchance and that's all God.
(15:53):
So Samson's shortfalls andtemper wasn't great, but God
still used it for a purpose todeliver his people from the
Philistines.
So more to come next week, godbless.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for loving useven when we're messy.
Thank you that you see beyondour reactions and weaknesses.
(16:14):
Help us to surrender even ouranger to you and trust that you
can work through every part ofour story to fulfill your
purpose.
Father, we thank you so muchfor accepting our anger, our
frustrations and being able tohelp us learn from it to become
better people.
And Father, we love you and wethank you so much for the study
(16:36):
of Samson.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
All right, my friends, that isit for this week.
God bless, and see you nextweek for Samson part three,
because it just keeps gettingbetter and better.
It's like a soap opera.
It just continues to put you onthe edge of your seat.
It's like I have my popcorn.
I'm ready to watch this wholedrama unfold Till next time.
(16:58):
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.
If this episode encouraged you,please share it with someone
who might need the same messageand don't forget to subscribe so
you never miss a weekly episode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be
so appreciated as well.
(17:18):
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff.
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