Back in the day I sported hair down to my shoulders. Styles changed and I cut my locks, which I discovered much easier to manage. Today I’m just happy to have hair, even if it’s turned salt and pepper.

Samson grew hair like a cash crop. Never touched by a razor, he eventually revealed how his hair held the secret to his strength—and his devious lover cut it off. Samson’s headstrong habit of taking whatever woman he wanted backfired. Weakened, his enemies seized him, gouged out his eyes, and shackled him in prison.

The triumphant Philistines left Samson frail, humbled and blind. However, as Samson suffered, the hair on his head began to grow again.

I love the foreshadowing of this line. Hope looms on the horizon. Samson’s hair grew back and he revenged himself by collapsing a temple filled with Israel’s enemies. Did no one present wonder about his new luxurious head of hair?

At his death Samson humbly called upon the Lord. He looked not to his mane or to the power he felt once again coursing through his body. Instead, he turned to the Lord, the ultimate source of strength.

Like Samson, you and I can ask the Lord to empower his servants. Much like hair grows, the Lord often works unnoticed. Pray, trust and wait. But all the time keep checking—perhaps some fuzz is appearing?

Judges 16

Photo by Humphrey M