The Power to ChangeSample

How to Stop Before You Flop

Have you noticed how people can summarize years of bad decisions with only one sentence? Someone will shake their head sadly and say, “Yeah, he cheated on his wife.” Or, “She got fired from her dream job.” But people rarely ruin their lives by taking one big, tragic step. No. It’s rarely one; it’s more like 56,250. (Remember that number.)

There are a bunch of these “life summary sentences” in the Bible. One of the most profound is in Judges 16:1, which summarizes the life of Samson.

“One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute.”

There were several reasons why entering Gaza could ruin Samson’s life. Gaza was not only a city where Samson could find a prostitute but also the headquarters for the Philistines, the people who hated God’s people.

The statement “One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute” reads like an abrupt choice. Like Samson woke up with nothing to do and had an idea. I’m pretty sure there are prostitutes in Gaza. I think I’ll just head over there today.

No. Disasters are rarely the result of an isolated decision. They’re always the end of a slippery slope.

Samson lived 25 miles from Gaza. Do you know how many steps it takes to walk 25 miles? Approximately 56,250.

Samson did not ruin his life all at one time. He took 56,250 steps in a direction that began a downward, out-of-control spiral. Long before he headed to Gaza that day, Samson must have allowed 56,250 thoughts, little decisions, and self-defeating habits to deteriorate his relationship with God and his own integrity.

If you read the rest of Samson’s story, you’ll see he continued to make a series of small, bad decisions that led him, step by step, to ruin his life.

Who does that? We all do.

Well, we all can. We don’t wreck our lives all at once but a little at a time. We’re all tempted to slide down that 56,250-step slope every day. That’s why it’s so important to get ahold of our habits.

You’ve embraced your true God-given identity and defined your goal to help your win. Here’s our next challenge: Based on the area of your life where you want to win, what one habit do you need to stop?

I know 27 probably come to mind. (I know that because 27 come to my mind.) If you try to stop doing 27 things, you will stop doing zero. So how many of those 27 habits do you think God wants you to focus on? One. One at a time.

So let’s focus on just one habit you want to break. It might be complaining and being negative. Or gossiping. Or maybe you struggle with an eating disorder. Or you may need to stop watching Netflix. Or porn. You may be addicted to a substance. Or biting your fingernails.

What is the one habit you need to stop? Once you name it, you can work on stopping. You cannot defeat what you cannot define. So define the habit you want to stop, and let God help you defeat it.