There was a man in Old Testament times who experienced a tragic defeat due to the deception of the enemy. His name was Samson. His dramatic and true story is found in the Bible in Judges 13-16.

Samson was born at a time when Israel needed a deliverer. In fact, he was born for that very purpose. His birth itself was a miracle in several ways: It was a miraculous answer to prayer by his mother, who was barren. It also was an answer to the groanings of the people who had been under the rule of the Philistines for forty years!

From the beginning, this man was a chosen instrument of the Lord and his parents were instructed to raise him as one separated unto the Lord. Not a razor was to touch his head all of his life as a sign of his separation unto God.

As Samson grew and God blessed him, he began to be moved by the Holy Spirit and did many mighty works of God! When a lion came against him, Samson took it and slew it with his bare hands! On another occasion, Samson outran and captured three-hundred foxes, tied firebrands to their tails, and turned them loose to set fire to the fields of the Philistines.

Once, when the Philistines thought they had Samson securely locked in the city of Gaza, this superman of God took hold of the gates of the city and the two posts and carried them off to the top of a hill. Another time, he slew one-thousand Philistines using the jawbone of a donkey as his only weapon.

This was God's deliverer! This was God's judge of His people! This was God's chosen instrument! But, even in this man — anointed and used of God, separated unto God before his birth — a battle raged. Satan began to speak to Samson through his physical passions. Samson's eyes fell on a beautiful woman of the Philistines, heathen people God had warned His people to avoid.

Soon Samson began to desire that woman. Satan teased Samson with his fleshly appetites until we see this spiritual giant disregarding his spiritual heritage and going to the camp of the Philistines to indulge himself in sinful pleasures.

God had set a standard for Samson to follow. He wanted Samson to keep himself pure, to obey the laws of God, and to remain in the place of blessing. God wanted him to be a servant of God, a man who could hold his head high and walk down the street anointed with the power of the Spirit of God. Satan's purpose was to destroy Samson, destroy his life and effectiveness for God, and, in fact, reduce Samson to nothing! A zero!

Don't be deceived…the battles you are facing today are struggles between the purposes God has for you and the purposes the devil has for your life.

The battles I am facing today are struggles between the purposes God has for me and the purposes the devil has for my life. God's purposes will be fulfilled!