Our Own Worst Enemy

“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” – John 8:44.

Most everywhere we look, we’re reminded of the real battle that exists. We live in desperate and uncertain times. The devil does not wait until we are strong and ready for his attack. He is ruthless, determined and cunning and is hoping that we underestimate him. The more we underestimate the enemy, the more likely he is to make inroads into our lives.

God has a plan for our lives. The enemy has a plan for us too. We just have to decide which voice we’re going to listen to, and who we’re going to choose to follow each day. God had a plan for Samson’s life, but too often the choices Samson made steered him away from God and into the traps of the enemy.

We can all underestimate and forget about the reality that we have a spiritual enemy whose mission is to steal, kill, and destroy everything that matters to the heart of God. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.“

We underestimate the enemy when we walk right over the guard rails God places in our lives. We underestimate the devil when we become a little too comfortable spending time with that married women. We underestimate our enemy when we relax our ethics to make that deal. We think we know how to stand strong against the Devil, but do we? First Corinthians 10:12 says: “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” So we need to be careful that we don’t fall because we underestimate our enemy.

One of the most important principles of warfare is to know your enemy. If you are fighting a war and you have a lot of information about your enemy, it makes the battle so much easier. If you know very little about your enemy, the battle will be more difficult. As we read in 1 Peter, Satan roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. If the newspapers reported that a lion had escaped from the zoo and was roaming the streets of your city, wouldn’t it be a help to know which area of the city he is in, so we could avoid that area? Certainly. In the same way, knowing where Satan is trying to attack us can save us from a lot of problems. It is important that we know our enemy, because once you know what the Bible teaches about Satan, you will be careful and you will not underestimate your enemy.

Discussion Questions:

1. If we do not take our enemy seriously, how could this hinder us?
2. What can we do to be on guard against Satan? How can scripture help?   
3. Think about the life of Samson: What is a healthy balance between blaming the devil for all of our ills and dealing with our responsibility for our lives and actions?
4. What can we do this week to acquire more knowledge of our enemy?