Column: The Samson anointing
Some people are wired to be connected to a team of people working toward a common goal. These people fit like a precut piece of a puzzle. They help with the completion of the big picture. Without them the mission will become almost impossible. Every side of that puzzle piece corresponds to another piece of the puzzle perfectly, simply because they were all cut from the original picture together. Like that piece of the puzzle, most people know where they fit without the difficulty of squeezing into the picture.
However, there are those who do not fit in; they are possessed with attributes that few people have. These are people society may call misfits, oddballs, etc. The reality of their characteristics is this, they are in some cases anointed vessels on assignment from the Lord God Almighty. People who are different in a godly way are not always understood. In fact, based on the severity of your differences, you may not ever be totally accepted in societal groups. There is also a great possibility that you may not be accepted within the so-called saved people of God. The motivation behind your mission is understanding the calling upon your life and your purpose for living.
There was a man in the Bible by the name of Manoah whose wife was barren. Manoah's wife received a tremendous word from the Lord recorded in the book of Judges, "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," Judges 13:3. Manoah's wife eventually gave birth to a son whom they named Samson. One day a young lion attacked Samson in Timnath and Samson killed it as if it was a little lamb bare-handed, but he did not share it with his parents (Judges 14:5-6). On one occasion, several thousand men of Judah took Samson to meet the Philistines because he was causing too much trouble. They bound him with new cords, but when the Philistines shouted against him, he broke free and found a jawbone of an ass and killed one thousand men (Judges 15:9-16). Samson was an army all by himself.
Every so often, we encounter a few people who have an anointing like Samson. These individuals are an army of one; they fly solo armed with the mighty hand of God upon them. They do not need an army; they do not need guns and ammo, as they are generational people raised up by the Lord God himself. We have generational athletes, generational artists, generational thinkers, etc. Likewise, God raises up generational preachers, teachers and evangelists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. These individuals have what I call a Samsonite anointing. No, this is not a suitcase or carrier bags, this is an anointing like what Samson was blessed with.
Samson had a covenant with God before he was born mandated by God himself. "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 hands of the Philistines," (Judges 13:5). Nazarites adhered to specific vows. Some of those vows were listed in verse 4, no wine nor strong drink, not eating any strange foods, and of course avoiding cutting of the hair. Samson lived by the vows until he shared where his strength came from with Delilah his mistress. In Judges chapter 16, Samson made the mistake of telling Delilah that from his mother's womb he had been a Nazarite. He told her that if his head was shaved, he would become weak and be like any other man. That conversation would change his life forever because this Philistine woman betrayed him. She played him fast asleep and had another man to cut his hair, and his strength went from him and the Lord departed from him.
The key to sustaining and enhancing our anointing is to know two things: what strengthens us and what weakens us. I can think of two cartoon characters, Popeye and Superman. When it comes to Popeye, spinach strengthened him. On the other hand, Superman was weakened in the presence of kryptonite. If you have a once-in-a-generation anointing like Samson had, you need to know what gives you strength and what depletes your anointing. Depending on what it is that provides you with strength, you may want to carry that truth to the grave, sharing it with no one at all.
In God We Trust
Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.