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Today we begin the story of Sampson. While Sampson was a good leader and judge of Israel, he also allowed himself to be influenced by the desires of his heart. These desires did not always line up with God’s desires. This is a great lesson for leaders as they gain influence and power. There will always be something to tempt you; sometimes it is someone of the opposite sex, sometimes it’s money, or it could be something else that will cause you to stumble. Whatever it may be, if we fill our heart and mind with an honest relationship with God and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in all we do, we can rely on God’s strength to help us.
Daily Devotion 
Something that stood out to me:
17 Manoah said, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you after our son is born.”
18 “No,” the angel replied. “You don’t need to know my name. And if you did, you couldn’t understand it.”
Meaning behind names was very important to this culture at this time, so when he says that Manoah wouldn’t understand it, he’s saying that they wouldn’t understand the meaning. This is God’s emissary, and if we can’t even understand his emissary, what does that say about our ability to understand God? What a real example of how small we are and how small our understanding and thinking are. And what a real example of God understanding us and graciously only giving us what he knows we can handle/understand.