Hi pals.... A quick one.
Have they labelled you a failure? It's a simple but important question I bring your way to brighten up your already productive weekend.
The man They Called a Failure! People always talk about Samson from his mistakes. Delilah. The betrayal. The haircut. The eyes gouged out. That is all they talk about.
But they forget something important.
This man was a judge over Israel for twenty years. Twenty years.
That is not a failure. That is a man whom God raised up, used, and trusted with the leadership of His people.
And before he ever met Delilah, before he ever fell, Samson did extraordinary things by the power of God.
Do you remember?
He killed a lion with his bare hands. Judges 14:5-6 says the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he tore the lion apart as easily as tearing a young goat. No weapon. No army. Just God.
He killed thirty Philistines to pay off a debt. Judges 14:19 says the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men.
When the Philistines came to capture him, he broke the ropes on his arms like they were nothing. Judges 15:14 says, "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands."
Then he took the jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand Philistines. One thousand. By himself. Judges 15:15 says, "He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it."
And after all of that, when he was thirsty and ready to die, God split the rock and water came out. Judges 15:18-19 says Samson called out to the Lord, and God opened a hollow place in Lehi, and water came out.
This was not a weak man. This was not a man whom God had abandoned.
Yes, he had flaws. Yes, he had desires that led him into trouble. Yes, he fell.
But the Bible does not end his story in the prison of Gaza. It ends his story on the mountaintop of victory.
The Bible says in Judges 16:30, "So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life."
Let's think about that.
After all his mistakes. After all his failures. After being blinded, chained, and mocked by his enemies. In his weakest moment, Samson did more for the deliverance of Israel than in all his years of strength.
That is not a failure. That is a redemption story.
You may feel like you have lost your way. You may feel like your desires have gotten the best of you. You may feel like you have been disqualified from your divine mandate.
But hear me carefully.
God is not done with you.
Samson was set apart before he was born. Judges 13:5 says, "The child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
That was his mandate. And even after everything — the wrong women, the broken vows, the bad decisions — God still brought him back to his purpose.
Not because Samson deserved it. But because God is faithful.
And here is something most people miss.
God did not stop using Samson just because Samson had desires that were not perfect. In fact, Judges 14:4 says that Samson's desire for a Philistine woman was "of the Lord" — because God was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines.
That does not mean God approved of everything Samson did. But it means God is so sovereign that He can take even your messy desires, even your flawed choices, and still steer you toward His purpose.
So if you feel like your desires have gotten you into trouble, hear this. God has not abandoned you. He can still use where you are to get you where He wants you to be. Not because you are perfect. But because He is faithful.
Samson fell, but he rose again. He lost his sight, but he gained his purpose back. He was mocked, but he had the last laugh.
And that is what I want you to understand today.
Your mandate has not been cancelled by your mistakes.
Your calling has not been revoked by your failures.
Yes, you may have allowed your desires to lead you away from the path. Yes, you may have made choices that cost you dearly. But the same God who raised Samson can raise you.
The same God who restored his strength one last time can restore you.
Look at what Samson prayed in Judges 16:28. "O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God."
That prayer was not pretty. It was not theologically perfect. It was the cry of a broken man who knew he had nothing left but God.
And God answered.
He did not say, "You had your chance." He did not say, "You should have done better." He did not say, "You made your bed, now lie in it."
No. He gave Samson his strength back. One last time. And with that strength, Samson fulfilled the very purpose he was born for.
Friend, I don't know what you have been through. I don't know how many times you have fallen. I don't know how long you have been in the prison of your own mistakes. But I know this: if you still have breath in your lungs, God is not finished with you.
Your greatest victory may not be behind you. It may be ahead of you.
Just like Samson, you may be closer to fulfilling your purpose in your weakest moment than you ever were in your strongest.
So don't let the enemy convince you that you are disqualified.
Don't let shame tell you that your story is over.
Don't let guilt keep you from crying out to God one more time.
The same God who restored Samson is still restoring people today.
And that includes you.
So pray that prayer. "Lord, remember me. Strengthen me one more time."
And watch what He will do.
Because the man they called a failure killed a lion with his bare hands, killed thirty Philistines, broke ropes like they were nothing, killed a thousand men with a jawbone, judged Israel for twenty years, and in his death, destroyed the temple of the enemy.
They called him a failure. But God called him a deliverer.
And you are not a failure either.
Your story is not over.
Take it from me your handsome friend John Petra.