Samson and Samuel (2) - All The Word for Today Daily Devotionals for 2026

‘Get her for me. She's the right one for me.'
Judges 14:3 NIV


The second difference between Samson and Samuel is to do with relationships. Samson was guided by his desires instead of the principles of God's Word. ‘Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me."' And following his desires didn't go too well for Samson. When he ended up with Delilah, he lost his strength, his freedom, his reputation, his anointing, and his life (read the whole story in Judges 16). Samuel's story was different. Eli the High Priest had two sons called Hophni and Phinehas that he'd ordained to the priesthood, but God wasn't impressed with the way they were choosing to live, and this included their relationships. He said: ‘I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind' (1 Samuel 2:35 NIV). And this was Samuel. The contrasting stories of Samson and Samuel show that we really need to be asking for God's guidance and help with our relationships. We need to be asking for His strength to be able to do relationships His way, rather than the world's way. It's easy for us to follow our own desires and feelings, but God knows best. And we should be asking for His opinion on our relationships. The Bible says: ‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers' (2 Corinthians 6:14 NIV). And this is God's protection. It's much harder when we're in a relationship with someone who doesn't share our faith, our values, our goals, and our priorities. We end up in a tug of war with each pulling in a different direction. When problems arise we need someone by our side who turns to the same source we do for the solution: God.

What Now?

Think about all of your relationships (family, friends, partner). Are there any that need more of God in them? Pray that God would be at the centre of all your relationships.

Genesis 39-40, Matthew 11