The Book of Judges & the Cycle of Sin

Today I was crying out to the Lord and asking why is it so easy to fall away? How is it that one week I can be so strong, walking in faith, loving my intimate time with Him, praying, seeking and how is it the next week I can be struggling, feeling far from Him, really having to force myself to read and pray.

Well, the answer came almost immediately! The amazing thing is I am in the book of Judges right now and what this problem I am facing is the cycle of sin!

All through the book of Judges this happens over and over again.

In other words there was a repeated cycle throughout the entire book – a cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, devotion, followed by sin and bondage again. When there was a leader Israel would follow the Lord but when there was no one there to remind them they fell back into their old ways and sometimes worse then before. They started worshipping false gods and doing all kinds of evil. Then God would allow them to be captured by their enemy and only through that bondage would Israel turn back and cry out to God for help. Then God would raise up another leader for them to follow and the cycle would begin again.

You may think...yeah but that was before redemption through Jesus.

But we all fall into this trap, even today! I know I have one area of of weakness that constantly drags me down and back into bondage. When I compromise or give into that temptation I find myself falling back into old habits. Then I feel like my Christian walk goes up and down like a yoyo. But the cycle of sin can be broken! After all, Jesus died on the cross so it would be broken.

Judges is a book that teaches us both how they became captive to the enemy, and also how they got out of that bondage. And in doing so, it then teaches us how to break the cycle of sin. Looking over your past as a Christian, have you seen this in your own life? Has your Christian walk been a cycle of victory and defeat? Do you see the cycle occurring in your life? If we are honest, the message of Judges is a wake up call for each of us. It is a warning of what can happen once we become comfortable and begin to compromise with the enemy. It is guardrail, and a danger signal of the traps that can lie ahead in our Christian lives.

Now, when we fall into this cycle of sin God doesn't raise up a judge these days. But, He does send us amazing Christian leaders, pastors, and other Christian friends who help point the way and help us draw back to Him. And sometimes He needs to allow us to be in a time of desperation so that we will call out and realize we need Him. God doesn't want us dependent on other people. He only wants us dependent on Him!

The key is to only depend on God, pray, stay close to His Word, flee from sin and NEVER compromise!

No wonder Paul warned us to pray without ceasing. What He meant was never break your communication with God.

We are no different then Israel was. We have the same weakness. So, we must stay on track. Stay rooted and grounded in His Word. That and prayer are the most powerful weapons we have been given.

Don't let your guard down!