Samson: Brawny or Scrawny?: What You Believe About Samson Is What You Believe About God

By Paul J. Verheyden

Many people think of Samson as a brawny, muscular, large, man. But if this were so, why did the Philistines, Samson’s enemies, or Delilah, the person closest to him, or anyone else that saw him, not realize the source of his strength?

Could Samson have been a regular sized, or a thin or even a scrawny man that God used to show His power and strength? The biblical account says nothing about his physical appearance, except for his long hair.

It is very possible that Samson was physically normal or even scrawny in appearance, since there are many examples in scripture about how God used weakness to show His power and strength.

See in this work what others have said about Samson being scrawny and how faith plays a big part in what can be done. See how God used normal people to do big things, and what He says about how the power of the Holy Spirit can make us strong to “move mountains”.

Also in this work is shown what God says about fighting for faith, its methods, benefits and rewards.

We live in a physical world, but physical appearance is not always the sign of what can be done. Faith in God is what makes you strong.

In the back of the book, I took the opportunity to include some photos of some of my architecture and building projects I was involved in over the years that God has used me to positively influence others. Also included are photos of family and friends whom God has used to positively influence me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728301624

Paul J. Verheyden

Paul J. Verheyden, a licensed Architect, was born a triplet in Jacksonville, TX, 4th of 6 children. His first book, Live to Fight Another Day, describes his many unique events including losing his mom at age 5, and surviving separation of both legs, a major plane crash and brain surgery. He and Donna, married 36 years, live in Midlothian, TX and have 4 adult children. They are active members of First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, TX. Paul’s life goal is to be used by God to be a positive influence on others and motivate them to read their Bible every day.

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© 2019 Paul J. Verheyden. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/11/2019

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ISBN: 978-1-7283-0163-1 (sc)

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About the Book

Many people think of Samson as a brawny, muscular, large, man. But if this were so, why did the Philistines, Samson’s enemies, or Delilah, the person closest to him, or anyone else that saw him, not realize the source of his strength?

Could Samson have been a regular sized, or a thin or even a scrawny man that God used to show His power and strength? The biblical account says nothing about his physical appearance, except for his long hair.

It is very possible that Samson was physically normal or even scrawny in appearance, since there are many examples in scripture about how God used weakness to show His power and strength.

See in this work what others have said about Samson being scrawny and how faith plays a big part in what can be done. See how God used normal people to do big things, and what He says about how the power of the Holy Spirit can make us strong to move mountains.

Also in this work is shown what God says about fighting for faith, its methods, benefits and rewards.

We live in a physical world, but physical appearance is not always the sign of what can be done. Faith in God is what makes you strong.

In the back of the book, I took the opportunity to include some photos of some of my architecture and building projects I was involved in over the years that God has used me to positively influence others. Also included are photos of family and friends whom God has used to positively influence me.

Paul J. Verheyden, Architect

Contents

About the Book

Foreword by Dr. Robert Jeffress

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Physical Appearance

Chapter 2 - Other Opinions and Comments

Chapter 3 - Jesus’ Physical Appearance

Chapter 4 - Scrawny Men Being Brawny

1. Joseph

2. Moses

3. Joshua

4. Gideon

5. David

6. Paul

Chapter 5 - Brawny Triumphs of Faith

1. Noah

2. Abraham

3. Sarah

4. Isaac

5. Jacob

6. Joseph

7. Moses

8. Joshua

9. Rahab

10. Gideon

11. Barak

12. Samson

13. Jephthah

14. David

15. Samuel

16. The Prophets

Chapter 6 - Fighting for Faith

Fight Like Jehoshaphat

Fight Like Hezekiah

Faith with No Future Job

Chapter 7 - The Battleground

Romans 6 – Slavery to Sin

Romans 7 – The Law’s Power Died

God’s Law Reveals Our Sin

Struggling with Sin

Romans 8 - Life in the Spirit

The Future Glory

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Chapter 8 - Weapons of War

1. Truth

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

3. Good News of Peace

4. Shield of Faith –

5. Helmet of salvation –

6. Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God

7. Prayer

The Brethren

GO Men’s Bible Study

PPP

Never Give Up

The Man With the Demon Possessed Boy

Chapter 9 - Fighting the Fool

Chapter 10 - Fruits of Fighting for Faith

1. Love

2. Joy

4. Patience

5. Kindness

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

a. Adulterous woman

b. Lazarus

c. Peter

d. Thomas

e. Judas

f. John

g. Woman with issue of blood

h. To crowds of people

i. Samaritan woman John 4

j. Nicodemas John 3

k. Healing 2 blind men

l. Healing leper

m. Raising the dead son

n. Forgiving his killers

o. Serving his disciples

p. To the end

q. To accusers

r. Like a shepherd

s. Paul’s example

t. Other Scripture about gentleness

9. Self-control

Chapter 11 - Failures of Not Fighting For Faith

People in Noah’s day

Israelites in wilderness – complained

Esau sold birthright for stew.

The kings of Israel and Judah

A Warning against Pride

God Forgives the Repentant

Chapter 12 - Finding Faith

Four Faith Finds

Chapter 13 - Faith not Fear

Chapter 14 - Only in Weakness Are We Strong

Chapter 15 - More about Samson

Chapter 16 - Faith of Family & Friends

The T-Shirt Story – Faith in the Future

A Father Living by Faith

LaVerna’s Faith

Erma – Faith at age 107

Chapter 17 - Finishing First

My Testimony:

References

About the Author

Foreword

Faith in God can help us overcome many challenges that we face in this fallen world today. This faith does not depend on what we can do or what we have done ourselves, in our own strength. It is God who gives us the strength to fight through any negative circumstance. He gave Samson unusual strength when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. But this physical power was not recognized in Samson’s appearance.

In this work, Paul Verheyden gives Biblical examples of how God worked through many people to achieve feats of strength despite their physical condition. He also cites other writings that agree with this view. Also included are many Bible verses that will help us in our daily lives. Many times, God uses our weakness to show His strength. That’s really the way He works best. We can all live above the cares of this earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. But the battle is spiritual and that’s why we need the Bible (the Sword of the Spirit) to help us fight and win.

I appreciate Paul’s use of the Bible, God’s Holy Word, to show the power of God through the practical applications that he uses. We are all in a battle not only to personally win, but to positively influence others with God’s Word. This book supports the motto of our church here at First Baptist Church, Dallas: Transforming our world with God’s Word…one life at a time.

I particularly like the SOS Bible Reading Chart that Paul includes in the back of this book. I would encourage you to use it to support and increase your faith. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)

Thank you, Paul, for this work!

by Dr. Robert Jeffress

Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Dallas, TX

Introduction

So, what does it matter what Samson looked like? The answer is this: Because what you think Samson looked like is directly related to who you think God is. The Bible says nothing about what Samson looked like, except for his long hair.

What you think of Samson’s appearance relates to your belief that God is who He says he is, and will do what He says He will do, no matter what we look like on the outside. Most importantly, it matters what you think of how God and His Holy Spirit can affect your daily life, how you can rise above this earthly life and live a victorious, influential life where you can see Jesus Christ in your own spirit.

I admit that the subtitle, What you believe about Samson is what you believe about God, is a bit bold. You probably have read or heard about Samson. You probably believe in God. But you probably have not equated the two.

The idea of this work began many years ago, before 1999. I started it with the title, but then became unsure of what to include, how to organize it, etc. I went to the internet and found many choices of text relating to the subtitle. I found that I was not the only one who had this opinion – that Samson may have been physically normal, average, or even scrawny. Assembling and referencing these works seemed a daunting task.

Probably the main reason it took so long to finish this work is that I thought I needed to prove my belief about God before writing about it. I thought I needed to prove that God had used me, like Samson, to do something special, since I am no more than an average man. I wanted to show others that I acted on what I believed. I do not mean actual physical feats, like tearing down gates, or buildings, like Samson did, but overcoming physical things like health problems or some major life challenge.

In 2010, I completed my first book, Live to Fight Another Day. Completing it before this one surprised me because the writing of this Samson book was started first. The 2010 work chronicled how God helped me to overcome many physical and spiritual problems. It showed me that I did have some documented proof of overcoming physical challenges as a basis to write this book.

But even after God healed me physically through many life changing events including major surgeries, family deaths, surviving a major plane crash, and brain surgery. I was still about 70 pounds overweight and still struggling with selfish thoughts and actions. I thought I needed to lose all the weight and overcome all my selfishness before publishing this second book. Then I would be free to give full proof that my belief in the power of God over the physical would be complete. I also found myself still being very impatient with things and not trusting in God to take care of them. I continued to make me the most important thing in my life when I still had a wife and kids depending on me and watching me to be a good example.

Then I realized that God already showed me how to overcome challenges, even without my strength. All I had to do was to remember His strength through my past experiences and through His Word and live with that knowledge and power every day. I also realized that I needed to document other examples of how people showed their faith in God to overcome problems or negative situations. This realization gave me new focus to finish this work, without the weight loss and without being perfect in every way.

I believe that overeating and weight control and not being so selfish in thought and actions will always be daily struggles with me, as is with many self-disciplines. I consider them to be thorns in the flesh, like the apostle Paul had.

I think each of us have some kind of thorn in our lives. We all have one thing or another that just keeps raising its ugly head. We ask God to take it away, but God keeps it in our lives and uses it to make us more dependent on him. But this should not keep me from succeeding in other things, particularly like finishing this second book.

As I have learned more about God’s nature in His Word, in my daily Bible reading over several years, and through experiences over my short time on this earth, I thought, Wouldn’t it be just like God to use a scrawny guy to perform great physical acts of strength which Samson did with just the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you think it possible that Samson was scrawny? The Bible says that all things are possible with God. (Luke 1:37).

I have certainly learned His power first hand. But then, how much do I really believe it? How much do you really believe it?

Do you believe the verse: If you have faith like a mustard seed, you can move mountains? (Matthew 17:20)

The Bible tells the story of Samson in Judges 13, 14, 15 and 16. Take a few minutes to read these chapters so you can have a good background of what God says about Samson.

This work will make a case for how the Holy Spirit can work feats of strength in our lives if we truly believe that it does not matter what we look like, or how small or weak or scrawny we are. God can still do great things through our mortal selves. In fact, God prefers that we become weak so that He can make us strong. Go along this journey with me as we see how our belief about Samson affects our belief about God.

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Physical Appearance

Many people think of Samson as a physically muscular, large, brawny man. But if this were so, why could the Philistines, Samson’s enemies, and also Delilah, the person closest to him, not realize the source of his strength? Could Samson have been a regular sized, or even a thin or scrawny man that God used to show His power and strength?

Many of us look on the outside of a person and judge him accordingly. We can only see things from an earthly perspective, or we see things as they appear to be as reality, with no spiritual significance. God works in many ways, through circumstances, people, etc., to make us much stronger to face not only life’s physical challenges, but our spiritual challenges also.

If you believe Samson looked like a muscle man, and his great strength came from himself, you limit God. But God is limitless. His ways are certainly not our ways. Just read the chapters 40 & 41 in the book of Job and see God’s response to Job after Job justifies his actions toward God.