The Enemy of my Destiny is Myself (part 2)

When I say that the enemy of my destiny is myself, this does not ignore outside forces and pressures. There are real challenges standing in our way and competing with our success. Two key components seek to hinder our progress. They are, the devil and people (enemies/haters). This does not exempt us from accomplishing our goals, but it is an acknowledgement of the barriers ahead.

There is a real devil. The Bible paints pictures of a fallen angel, who with all his fury, fights against us made in God’s image. “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up.” 1 Peter 5:8 There is a real, though invisible attack against us. So, how can I say that we are our greatest enemy? Here is the truth about the devil; he has no more power over us than we give him. His main strategy is to send temptation our way, then he watches us trip over ourselves.

The Bible gives us the prescription to overcome these temptations. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 There are two things you can do to overcome the devil. The first is to submit to God. Most people will never see their destiny because they refuse to submit to God. They are content to exist under their own power convinced of their own self-importance. That breaks my heart because God went through great lengths to rescue them because He loves them. The second thing necessary to triumph over the devil is to resist him. This is what many Christians (including myself at times) fail to do. The Bible says that the followers of Jesus have already overcome. We need only refuse to give in, and the devil will run away. Once again, we have a choice to make.

The second outside opposition comes from those who have set themselves up as enemies against us. At times there are people who simple don’t like us and are bent on our downfall. Some may be in our own families, like the parent who abandoned or abused. Others are rivals at work or from school, and they remain a constant force against us. Still other detractors come from jealously because our endeavoring to live out our created purpose. What do you do with these “haters”. Jesus taught us to kill them… with kindness! “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28 Although, this scripture bothers me as a “hatee”, Jesus changed the world using this approach.

Too often we are either focused on the devil or people as our enemies, and the truth is that we have power to make better decisions. When attacked by the devil, we should submit to God and resist the devil. With people, we are to love them in the light of their hatred toward us. Neither one of these approaches is easy, that is why very few ever see their destiny. It’s not about “them”, God is always ready to fulfill His purpose in us. He wants that more than we do, but we have some decisions to make that will help us get out of our own way.