Samson Against Incredible Odds
Renuevo – Ensenada, Baja California
This week, as I was praying the Lord reminded me of the story of Samson and the mighty jawbone. I say mighty because Samson took on 1,000 Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone.
I can see Samson there with his muscles ripping through his shirt as he took on 1,000. Even with all that power and might, it’s hard to imagine one person taking on so many. Imagine the odds? How does that happen? I find some humor in Samson’s weapon of choice being a donkey’s jawbone!
This passage reminds me of so many things that we do where we feel the odds are stacked against us. The enemy is ready to pounce on us, and he does. Yet, if God is for us, who can be against us? Is there anything too great for the Lord or the strength of his might?
Samson’s Battle with the Philistines
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck down a thousand men. And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.” As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand, And that place was called Ramath-lehi. —Judges 15:14-17 ESV
Samson was a flawed hero, to say the least, and yet God in his grace used him. This is just as mysterious and amazing as Samson being victorious against such odds!
God’s Mighty Work on the Baja
Pastor Petri and Yudy
I think of some of the ministries we are involved in, and they have humble beginnings and yet God is using them mightily. This past Sunday Dawn and I visited our new church plant, Renuevo which is in Ensenada. Pastor Petri Petrikowski is leading this outreach with his wife, Yudy. They are just beginning, so it’s still a small work, but lives are beginning to be touched by the gospel of grace. People’s lives are being transformed.
It always encourages us when we can visit and meet the people and see how they are encountering the Lord there. Friends that were far away from Christ are being drawn into the Lord’s saving grace. God is so good!
When we look at the Samson story we realize that when God is on our side, we are already on the winning side. We already have a majority. The enormity of the odds 1,000 to 1 is only possible because God is there and He is working. That’s always been how we attain victory!
We see lives transformed through the work of the church not because we are so great, but because the God who is great and awesome and mighty is on our side. Hallelujah!
Also, I’m reminded of the importance of prayer to this amazing God that we serve. Please continue to stand with us in prayer! Pray for Petri and Yudy as they lead Renuevo in Ensenada. Pray for Dawn and me as we come alongside workers like Petri and Yudy to encourage, coach and train them so that they will grow in grace and in their effectiveness! We do give thanks that God can use even a donkey’s jawbone to defeat the enemy and give us victory!
In His Grip, Dave
Beyond Borders 