Over and over again, Samson failed to keep his vows to God, he got drunk, he touched dead things, and he fell in love with a Philistine woman, Delilah who worshiped false gods. Eventually his pride and self-assurance caught up with him after he told Delilah the secret of his strength, she handed him over to the Philistines who blinded him, humiliated him and made him a slave.
But God was faithful. Once Samson's hair grew back, his captors put him on display and celebrated how their gods had delivered them this great Hebrew warrior. In the midst of this humiliation, Samson asked God to strengthen him one more time, to defeat thousands of Philistines all at once, even if it meant dying with them.
There are times, (like in last week's lesson about Gideon, Judges 6) when God wants us to depend on His power, rather than our own.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
We can also rejoice because, just like Samson, God still loves us and will use us for His purposes, even when we stray or make the mistake of relying on ourselves instead of Him.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8
Ask your kids about what they learn in Sunday School, have conversations about the Bible and your faith. Talk about times when God used you or times when you may have thought you didn't need God but found out otherwise.
Take a look at some of the stories they're learning about in Sunday School & Confirmation in the Bible for yourself and make these last few months of 2012 "The Year of the Word."
The best way to get God's Word into you, is to start getting into God's Word.
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