Overcoming Sin in the Face of Temptations

Judges 16: 16-20

16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, 17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him,[a] and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

Brother, no matter how high we may think we are, the Devil knows our weaknesses, those sins that so easily ensnare us. And with this knowledge, He has fashioned weapons against us to lead us to our demise. The weapons include temptations that he brings against our flesh. Temptations may look and feel good temporarily but in the long run they bring sorrow and death. Temptations conceives sin and sin when it is fully grown will bring death. The enemy's desire for us is to kill, steal and destroy us just like Delilah's desire for Samson.

To resist sin, we must fight against ourselves, our weak flesh. But sometimes it seems like we are fighting a lost cause. We feel so overwhelmed by the constant pressure from the waves of attack from the enemy that are being applied against us through our weak flesh that is more that willing to succumb and give in to sin. At that point we feel like giving up just like the mighty Samson did after constant nagging and pressure from Delilah. 

Giving in seems to be the easier option. But in reality, the cost is much more than you were willing to pay and the place it takes you is far than where you were willing to go. Samson thought that by giving in to the nagging of Delilah, he would shut her up and alleviate the pressure of nagging upon him. Little did he know that the cost would be more. By divulging the secret things of God, he lost the presence of God, he lost his eyes and he lost the power that was available to him due to his position in God. 

Sin caused Adam to be cast off from the presence of God and so it is with us who are saved that when we sin God departs from us. Sin also causes us to loose the spiritual sight or discernment available to us because of our position in Christ. And lastly the power over sin and the Devil that is given to the church will be gone from us and the enemy will be able to cause havoc in our lives since we have opened a door for him. 

Now You can either give up and surrender yourself to the temptation just like Samson or you can choose to focus on our Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith who is able to give us strength when we are weak. His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. At our point of greatest need is when we need to turn to Him. And God will not let us suffer more than we are able to handle because for every temptation, He has provided a way out for us. 

Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice, for Our Lord is Lord over all and at the mention of His name all knees bow and all lips confess that He is Lord. Resist the Devil and turn to God and He will sustain you through the constant pressure of temptation that the enemy assails you with.