How to Turn Your Sunshine into Storms

Judges 14:1
“And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.”

The name Samson means “sunshine.” Samson had such a bright future from before his birth. God promised, before he was born, that He wanted to use him to deliver Israel from bondage. What a future! Yet, Samson found a way to turn his bright future into a stormy life. The storm clouds quickly gathered because of bad decisions that eventually blocked his bright future. What was such a bright future became a life of tragedy all because of the choices that he made.

Many have turned a bright future into a life of storms and tragedy. Just like Samson, everyone has a bright future with God. However, just like Samson, everyone can make terrible choices that will hinder or even destroy their future. There are six decisions Samson made that you must avoid if you don’t want to turn your sunshine into storms.

First, guard your direction in life. One of the saddest phrases in the Scriptures is found in Samson’s life when it says, “And Samson went down…” Every decision you make has a direction. It doesn’t matter the reason as to why you made that decision; if you don’t keep your direction right, you will find yourself having a stormy life. Every decision should keep you going on the same path of life and should never cause you to go another pathway.

Second, guard your information in life. Samson allowed himself to see things that eventually became the actions of his life. You must guard the information portal of your life if you want to keep the bright and positive future that God has for you. What you take in through your eyes and ears always influences your mind, which will affect your decisions for good or bad.

Third, guard your pleasures in life. Samson said, “…for she pleaseth me well.” A bright future can only be retained if you make your life about pleasing God and not about personal pleasure. If your life is about personal pleasure, you will eventually make decisions that will draw you away from God. Doing right won’t always be pleasurable at the moment, but it will always give you a joy-filled future.

Fourth, guard your associations in life. Samson had poor associations, and those associations changed his life for the worst. You can’t have poor associations and expect a great outcome in life. Associations matter! Who you choose to associate with does determine whether you have a bright or stormy future. Choose your associations wisely; be sure they are associations that will push you closer to God’s will for your life.

Fifth, guard your discernment in life. Samson’s discernment was terrible. If there is anything you must develop to keep your future bright it is the ability to discern where decisions take you in the future. Discernment doesn’t look at how a decision impacts you today, but it will look at where it takes you tomorrow. Discernment will be properly developed if you have the right information coming in and the right associations in life.

Finally, have a regard for God’s rules. Never think that God will excuse your sinful decisions. Be careful to do right all the time, and you will never put yourself in a position that will cause the storm clouds of sin to cover the bright future that God has for you.