Sam casually entered the enemy village and wandered through the marketplace.  A beautiful young Philistine woman noticed the handsome young Sam and approached him.  It was love at first sight for both of them.  The beginning of their love story could not have been written better by Disney itself.    Unfortunately, Sam failed to see the enemy in the face of the innocent looking woman standing before him.

Notice the sequence of events in this story.  First of all he casually enters enemy territory.   Then when the enemy approaches him, he doesn’t resist, instead he immediately falls in love.  Now it’s easy to say, “That was stupid.  God  chose him to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines and what does he do?  He goes down to enemy territory and falls in love with the enemy herself.”  But, how many times do we go places we shouldn’t?  Whether it be a literal physical place or mentally treading through dangerous territory.  And then once we arrive in enemy territory we are approached by our little pet sin.  Good sense flies out the window and we are immediately infatuated with danger.  It’s so much fun with the top of the ‘vette down, after all just a little flirting never hurt anyone.

Sam finally tears himself away from the love of his life to rush home and tell his parents the good news.   “I have met the most beautiful Philistine woman ever and I want to marry her.”  What his parents hear is  “I have  fallen in love with the enemy and I want to marry her and ruin my life.”  Now Sam’s parents tried to reason with him, but he insisted, “I fell in love with her, and I’m going to marry her.  So please make arrangements for our wedding.”

Now I really like the next text after this statement of rebellion by Samson.  Judges 14:4 says, “He could not be convinced otherwise, so God used the occasion to confront the Philistines who controlled this whole area of Israel.”  Fortunately God can use our mistakes for His good.  Romans 8:28 assures us;  “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose.”

Sam and his parents made a trip to Timnah to arrange wedding plans.  Sam, being in a bigger hurry to ruin his life than his parents, quickly outdistanced the older folks on the way to see the enemy.  The infatuated young man did not see the young lion padding silently through the brush, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.  Sam only snapped out of his daydreaming when the lion let loose with a ferocious roar.   In a split second Sam went from mentally rehearsing his wedding to the unusual sight of a lion flying through the air toward him.  The Spirit of the Lord came over him and he felt himself morph into “Super Sam”.  With supernatural power “Super Sam”  caught the lion in mid spring and threw it to the ground.  Victory!

Sin can look so innocent and hide so well that when it attacks we are taken entirely by surprise.  If we are under the influence of God, we can overcome as easily as “Super Sam” when he destroyed the lion.  On the other hand, if we try to overcome sin alone we are a lot like Sam when he fell in love with the enemy.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith….
1 Peter 5:8

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.  Mark 14:38

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12