If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! (Proverbs 24:10)

Samson was supposed to be such a powerhouse, with his rippling muscles, his long flowing hair, his out-of-control mojo, and all that.  But I've got to wonder if wiry little, bald-headed Elisha should actually be considered the stronger man.  We don't know so much about Elisha's physique, except that he did an awful lot of walking (thus was presumably a bit wiry) and that he didn't have any hair.  However we do know that Elisha was a model of perseverence, through all his years of ministry (recorded in 2 Kings 2-13).  He ministered to thousands and thousands of people from all walks of life... He watched his spiritual mentor be taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire... He performed crazy miracles involving everything from soup to axe-heads to dead children... He lived through numerous changes in power and sometimes even through violent coups... He experienced famine and war... He went through a lot of times of trouble.  And yet unlike many biblical heroes, he never faltered.  He simply stuck close to God and kept to his mission, from beginning to end.  Considering all that he went through, this seems like a remarkable feat of strength.

On the other hand, Samson had all the physical strength -- able to wrestle with ferocious wild animals, pull down entire buildings with his bare hands, and beat off bad guys like Jackie Chan on steroids.  Yet he was notoriously weak when it came to the ladies, and this proved to be his undoing.  He simply couldn't resist Delilah's Philistine charms, even though she turned out to be nothing but Trouble.  And well, if you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength, really?

People may afford Samson a place of honor in history, as one of the strongest men of history.  But for me, in a boxing match between Samson and Elisha, I'd put my money on Elisha.  Pound for pound, the consistent, steady, scrappy guys like Elisha demonstrate a much greater strength than the "Shock-and-Awe" types like Samson.  It may not always be evident, on the level of appearances, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going.