Thursday August 22
"These things
happened to them as examples…for
us.”
1Co 10:11 NIV
Samson and Joseph
(1)
Samson was a loser, Joseph was a winner. Samson had
everything going for him. He was the product of a miracle birth, raised by
godly parents, and given supernatural strength. Yet he failed miserably. Why? (1)
He did not pray. The only time we read of Samson praying is when he was in
trouble. Sound familiar? If you conduct a post-mortem on your biggest failures,
somewhere in the wreckage you’ll find that you’ve forsaken the place of prayer.
You can’t run your car on an empty tank, work on an empty stomach, or pay bills
on an empty checking account. And you can’t live a victorious Christian life
without daily prayer. (2) He refused to live by God’s Word.When confronted
by his parents over marrying the wrong woman, Samson told them, "She
pleaseth me well” (Jdg 14:3). When you’re led by sentiment rather than
Scripture, you’re heading for trouble. One of the best definitions of
"disobedience” is "incomplete obedience.” You can’t pick which
Scriptures you want to live by and turn a blind eye to the rest! (3) He
had the wrong spirit. While Joseph extended forgiveness to those who’d
harmed him, Samson prayed for revenge. Any time you give in to resentment
you’re allowing someone other than God to dictate your actions, and you end up
suffering even more. (4) He was motivated by greed.Consorting with the
Philistines, he placed a bet with thirty of them, saying, "If you lose,
then you will give me thirty changes of raiment” (See Jdg 14:13). You say,
"What’s the point?” If it could happen to Samson, it could happen to you!
Taken from the Word for You Today devotional
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