The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him…

Judges 13:24 (NIV)

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry…So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:14 & 31 NIV

We have all been there – had a spiritual high and an outstanding experience with the Lord. Then what happened? We took our eyes off the prize of God’s best for us and find ourselves in a mess.

God set Samson apart to help deliver Israel from the Philistines. He made him a Nazarite – one whose conduct should have been above reproach. God blessed Samson.

All was well and good until Samson discovered women, not Israelite women of which he could have found a soulmate who worshipped the same God he did, but women who did not worship the one true God. These women became his idol. He put them above God. His desire for them eventually led to his loss of strength and his imprisonment.

What idols cause us to stumble and fall as Samson did -- money, food, entertainment, job security, relationships? Any time we allow anything to take over our lives and cause us to neglect God and his commands, that something becomes an idol. God strictly forbids idols of any kind. He does not want us to give anything more importance than him for our own good.

Samson had to live out the consequences of his sin. Blind and in prison, he asked God to help him one more time. God heard and answered Samson’s earnest prayer.

God put the story of Samson in the Bible for a reason. We must not miss the lesson of it. Let’s keep our eyes on God and not give anything more importance than we do our relationship with him. Just as Samson did, when we mess up, we need to pray earnestly about a plan of action.

God, as believers, you are our prize. Help us keep our eyes on you always.

Susan Partida