What You Chase Will Control You | Judges 14:1-3

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Today’s shout-out goes to Brad Cook from Florien, LA. Your commitment through Project23 helps deliver God’s Word daily with clarity and conviction. This one’s for you.

Our text today is Judges 14:1-3

“Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, ‘I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.’ But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.’” — Judges 14:1-3

Samson is supposed to be Israel’s deliverer. God had set him apart from birth. Yet his story begins with three little words: “I saw her.” That’s desire talking. Not prayer. Not obedience. Just raw appetite. His parents tried to speak wisdom, reminding him of God’s call and boundaries. But Samson steamrolls their counsel: “She is right in my eyes.”

Sound familiar?

Our culture preaches this same sermon every day: “If it feels right, do it. If it looks good, grab it.” But following every impulse never leads to freedom—it leads to chains. Samson thought he was chasing love, but really, he was surrendering his future to lust.

What you chase will control you. If you chase money, it’ll run your life. If you chase approval, you’ll be enslaved to other people’s opinions. If you chase lust, it’ll eat away at your soul.

Every man and woman wrestles here. Maybe it’s the late-night scroll, the car you can’t afford, or the relationship you know isn’t wise. The pull feels so strong. But here’s the warning—unchecked desire will drive you further than you ever planned to go and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay.

Instead, surrender your desires to the One who made you. Don’t ask, “What feels right to me?” Ask, “What is right in God’s eyes?”

ASK THIS:

1. What desires tend to hijack your decision-making?
2. Whose counsel do you usually ignore when you’re set on something?
3. Where are you tempted to say, “It’s right in my eyes,” even when God says otherwise?
4. What’s one area where you need to stop chasing and start surrendering?

DO THIS:

• Take a pause before making your next big decision.
• Ask: “Am I chasing this because it feels right in my eyes or because it’s right in God’s eyes?”
• Call one trusted friend and share one area where you feel your desires tugging.
• Ask them to pray for you this week.

PRAY THIS:

Father, you know the desires that pull at me. Teach me to want what You want, not what feels right to me. Keep me from trading Your will for my cravings. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Give Me Jesus + Closer.”