Day 113

Judges 13–14 | Acts 10:34–48 | Psalm 48

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From the very beginning, Samson was marked.

An angel appeared. Instructions were given. A calling was spoken before he took his first breath.

A Nazirite. Set apart. Destined to begin saving Israel.

And yet—almost immediately—we see a man whose choices are driven more by impulse than conviction.

A man set apart from birth… but pulled apart by appetite.

“Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” (Judges 14:3)

Not exactly a noble start.

And still—God was working.

“His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord…” (Judges 14:4)

It’s a verse that refuses to be rushed past.

Because it doesn’t excuse Samson’s impulsiveness.

But it does expose something stunning: God was already weaving redemption through the broken thread.

Not an Excuse—But a Reminder

Samson isn’t a role model.

But he is a reminder.

That God doesn’t wait for spotless records or spiritual poise before He moves.

He works through the unsteady. The undisciplined. The still-in-progress.

Not to glorify their dysfunction.

But to magnify His grace.

My Own History with Impulse

I’ve made my share of impulsive decisions.

A couple months ago, I heard a radio ad: “Ten ribeye steaks for forty bucks!”

As a marketer myself, I should’ve known better. But there I was—hand splint and all—driving to a truck in a parking lot full of freezers, convinced I was about to score a carnivorous jackpot.

Pouring rain. No umbrella. Fifty people in the line ahead of me.

But I waited—because by then, I was committed. I wasn’t going home steakless.

And of course—hook, line, and sinker—I fell for the bait-and-switch.

“Buy one box, get another free.”

So I did. Two huge boxes. Three hundred dollars. And not a decent cut among them.

Now we’ve got a freezer full of glorified shoe leather, and I’ve got a bruised ego to match.

That’s the impulsive side of me I can’t quite shake.

Sometimes it’s steak.

Sometimes it’s a sharp word.

Sometimes it’s rushing ahead of God because waiting feels harder than fixing.

But it always starts the same way: I act before I ask.

I push before I pray.

And yet God is never absent.

He doesn’t walk away from me until I figure it out.

He stays. He redirects. He builds something from the messes I make.

That’s not a license to keep blowing it.

It’s a lifeline for the days I do.

When Grace Falls Unexpected

Acts 10 is grace breaking through the ceiling.

Peter begins to speak—just a few words—and the Spirit falls.

“While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.” (Acts 10:44)

No altar call.

No water baptism yet.

No spiritual checklist.

Just belief.

And then the floodgates.

Peter is still processing what’s happening when heaven interrupts his sermon.

Because this is what God does:

He breaks in.

He bypasses our categories.

He pours Himself out on people we didn’t think were ready yet—including us.

The God Who Dwells with the Unworthy

Psalm 48 paints a picture of a strong, stable city—God dwelling in its midst.

A God who is faithful, not because of the people, but in spite of them.

“As we have heard, so we have seen… God will establish it forever.” (v.8)

God isn’t looking for perfect vessels.

He’s building something eternal with flawed material.

Samson reminds me that calling doesn’t equal character—but it does mean God’s not done.

Peter reminds me that grace often lands before we’re “ready.”

And Psalm 48 reminds me that God is our steadiness, even when we’re not steady ourselves.

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Lord, thank You for using people like Samson… and people like me. You don’t need our perfection. You work through our weakness. You hold us when we’re unsteady and You lead us when we’re unsure. Keep me from excusing my sin—but keep me just as far from disqualifying myself from Your grace. You are faithful. Even when I’m flawed. And that’s my only hope.

Amen.