“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.”

— 1 Corinthians 10:12

Did you realize that virtually no drunkard on skid row ever thought he would end up there? They all flirted with sin. So did Samson in the Bible.

Now if any man ever had the right to be self-confident, certainly Samson did; as the strongest man in the world, he was not impressed by anyone. You remember that one time when the Philistines came upon him, he had no weapon but the jawbone of an ass, and with that one jawbone he killed a thousand Philistine soldiers and he boasted about it.

The word confident comes from con-fide, literally “with faith.” We should all have faith, but the world tells us that we should have faith in ourselves. The Bible tells us that we should have faith in Christ.

Well, Samson thought he had enough strength to have confidence in himself, and, unfortunately, it was that confidence that caused him to dally with sin— ultimately in the form of his dalliance with Delilah.

When you have self-confidence and you deal with normal problems and you overcome them, it can lead to self-conceit and pride. When you run into a problem big enough, it leads to despair and fear. But in the case of confidence in God, there is nothing bigger than God.

Supposing in their self-confidence that they are never going to fall, some Christians have flirted with alcohol or drugs or tobacco or whatever kind of sexual sin it might be, quite confident that they are never going to become an addict. This can lead to tragic endings. Don’t dabble with sin.

Dear Lord Jesus, give me strength today in order to build Christ-confidence. Help me to rely on You and not myself. Help me in humility to know that I am not strong enough to withstand temptation. I put my trust in You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN RESIST
TEMPTATION AND NOT DALLY WITH SIN.