‘He told her everything.’Judges 16:17 NIV
Samson had incredible potential, but he threw it away. Why? Over the next few days we’ll look at some of the reasons. Firstly, he failed to control his impulses. He deliberately ignored God’s principles, and his life became a cycle of failures. He never learned; he kept making the same mistakes over and over again. Samson put his desire for spending time with a woman called Delilah above what he knew was right. Delilah kept asking him about the source of his strength, and each time she got a little closer to the truth. In the end, she had asked so many times that Samson gave in and revealed his secret: ‘With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything’ (Judges 16:16-17 NIV). Sometimes we say things like ‘It can’t hurt…just this once.’ We don’t plan to fail, but little by little, we head down the wrong path, and we don’t always learn from our mistakes. We might feel like we’re weak and that we can’t ever break free of our temptations, but the Bible teaches us that God ‘gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak’ (Isaiah 40:29 NIV). We can feel controlled by our desires and temptations, but actually we have a choice. We can choose to live God’s way. The Bible teaches that God ‘will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…he will…provide a way out so that you can endure it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). When Samson finally faced the truth, God broke his cycle of failure, gave him the power to do what he should do, and made him victorious. And God will do the same for us when we turn to Him. What Now? Have an honest think about what tempts you. Ask God to help you learn from your mistakes and break free from temptation.
