The Samson Syndrome
Scripture Reading: Judges 16:20–21
“And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.”
The Samson Syndrome
Father, we thank you because your Presence brings love, peace, wisdom, and revelation. We pray for the grace of maturity. Deliver us, in the name of Jesus, from the Samson Syndrome. In your mercy and love, give us the grace to learn from your Word so that we can become the people you have designed us to be. Holy Father, according to your Word in Judges chapters 13–16, you designed Samson for a life of greatness and instead he chose to fall with the enemy. We pray that you will deliver us from that path today in the name of Jesus.
When Samson was to be born, the Word of God came to his parents: “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,” Judges 13:3–5. Samson had a remarkable birth because he had great destiny.
Judges 13:24–25 says, “And the woman bare a son and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” In addition to great destiny, Samson had great gifting, which in his case manifested in the power to deliver his people. But Samson started having wandering desires. Judges 14:1–3 says, “And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines . . . Then his father and mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.” That danger, that is pleasing you well, that is giving you the Samson Syndrome today, I curse it in the name of Jesus. That thing that is destined to kill you, that is pleasing you well now, I pray divine dislike for it into your life in the name of Jesus. For the Samson Syndrome starts with great destiny, great gifting, and then develops into wandering desires. These desires caused Samson to take the next step, which was to play with the enemy, the Philistines who he was born into the world to defeat.
Samson played with the enemy by giving them a riddle. He offered a reward if they could solve it before the seven-day feast was over. The Philistines could not decode it so they went to Samson’s wife, and threatened to burn down her father’s house if she did not entice Samson to give her the answer.
Delilah manipulated Samson by telling him he must not love her if he could not tell her the answer. She moped for a few days until he could not stand it and gave her the answer. She immediately shared it with her people, Judges 14:12–17. What kind of riddles and jokes are you playing with the enemy of your destiny? What kind of communication are you having with people who have been programmed to derail you?
When you surrender to wandering desires you play games you have no business playing. When you play with the enemy, you voluntarily dispense valuable virtues to empower the enemy.
Are you playing with the enemy through wandering desires and divulging information to empower the enemy to destroy your destiny? I pray that the Lord will deliver you from that inordinate affection today in the name of Jesus. Hear the Word of the Lord, pray today and be delivered from the Samson Syndrome. Having empowered the enemy, Samson was incapacitated and arrested. Delilah needed the secret of his power: his hair was cut, and he became a slave in the camp of the people he had been empowered to defeat. I pray that the Lord will deliver you from empowering your enemy to incapacitate you.
In the end, Samson prayed that he would die with the Philistines. I pray that God will deliver you from that kind of death. Many of us are playing with the enemy by playing with sin. The only antidote to the Samson Syndrome is salvation.
Prayer Points:
If you have never given your life to Jesus, pray, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart and deliver me from the syndrome that derailed Samson. Deliver me from the evil with which I have grown comfortable. Come into my heart and deliver me in the name of Jesus.” Holy Father, save us all; for none reading this message can honestly say we do not have this syndrome.
Deliver us from empowering and dying with the enemy. Cause your deliverance to become our reality, in Jesus’ name.
