Thursday, July 4, 2024
If you are anything like me, your childhood and adolescence was a rather painful learning process. As we grow and mature, our parents offer sound advice and set rules in place for our own good. While I was never really a bad youngster, I still liked to challenge the validity of the rules from time to time. After all, “rules are made to be broken.”
Once, I decided to build a bike ramp in our stone driveway. Of course, this went against all sound advice and rules my parents had in place. The result? After the jump, my bike slid into the stones. I lost control and ended up in the ditch — smack dab in the middle of a large thorn bush. Ouch! Even when we are aware of the potential consequences, some of us continue to test the rules, even as adults, because we think it’s exciting.
Samson repeatedly ignored God’s instructions and arrogantly broke rules outlined in his Godly heritage. When you get away with something once, it’s easy to think there are no consequences for those actions.
Judges 16:4-5
4Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. 5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
Delilah urgently tried to entice Samson to divulge the secret of his great strength, and several times over, Samson lied to her. Each time, she pressed harder. If I was Samson, I would have become very suspicious of Delilah’s intentions. Samson finally divulged the truth about his great strength. Maybe his arrogance led him to believe nothing bad would ever happen. So that same night while he slept, she cut off his hair and turned him over to the Philistines. They gouged out his eyes and forced him to work in prison (Judges 16:21). Sampson’s missteps had finally caught up with him and initially, it looked like the Philistines had the last laugh …
Judges 16:22
But before long, his hair began to grow back.
Join us tomorrow for the conclusion of this story….
Questions:
In what areas of your life do you find yourself bending the rules, or ignoring sound advice?
Can you relate to Samson, following one misstep with another?
Next Steps:
When faced with the temptation of rule-breaking, ask God for wisdom and strength of avoidance.
Read tomorrow's post to find out how the story ends.
Join one or more of the many groups available to have a great support team of peers to help you in times of struggle.
Prayer:
Loving Father, you always have my best interest at heart, and justly have given me rules and guidelines to help me find my way to you. Your advice is wise and sound, so help me follow your guidance. Please give me the wisdom to discern between right and wrong, the strength of character to follow the rules you have given me, and the good sense to heed the wise advice of the people you have placed in my life. Help me avoid a domino effect of missteps and keep my focus on you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Series Theme Verse:
Psalm 37:3-4
3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
This post was written by Ned Miller, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.