25/09/2025
( THE STUFF OF LEGENDS )
Judges 15:7-17
James 4:6
Proverbs 16:18
Proverbs 8:13
William Wallace. Maximus Decimus Meridius. King Leonidas. Movie legends.
Muhammad Ali. Babe Ruth. Bill Russell. Sports legends.
Michael Jackson. The Beatles. Bob Marley. Music legends.
What do all these legends have in common?
Their accomplishments seem larger than life. At times in their stories, each one of them seems invincible. And their stories are so inspiring that men keep telling them over and over again, eventually becoming the stuff of folklore, stories that live on for ages.
Samson had a moment like that, too, which we read about today. For a moment he shared a moment with 1,000 other men.
How did Samson do this? There is no doubt that it was the power of God: “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.” All honor, all glory, belongs to God and God alone. Jesus once said that with God, nothing is impossible. God does the things He wants to do.
Unfortunately, the other thing you see today (in Judges 15:16) is that Samson took credit for God’s power. He was arrogant.
Arrogance is always born out of our insecurities. When we don’t know who we are in Christ, most of us look to pride to try to fill that void—as Samson did.
Many of us try to define ourselves by our accomplishments, finding our worth (or value) in what we have done, rather than in the One we possess. We want to rely on our accomplishments, our victories, our trophies, our victories to define us, instead of acknowledging God as the source of all the good things in our lives. And like Samson, we want to be known as “a conqueror,” “a beast,” “a leader,” “a man of men,” “a man.”
Pride can be intoxicating. But a hangover is hell. We are human; we have (many) limitations, and we must trust in God. If you forget who you are and try to convince yourself that you are legendary, you will forget the true legend of your life: that the God who created the universe called you his child.
What defines you? Remember,
