Craig Clouston

The Enemy Within

Who am I?
Exodus 3:11

“Why did you just up and quit?” Reece was trying to understand how someone with Tim’s drive and intuition would abandon his life’s goal. So far he hadn’t figured it out. So once again, he asked, “Why’d you pull up short, Tim? And why now?”
“You really want the truth?” Tim seemed to resent the questioning of his motives.
But as Reece looked into Tim’s eyes, he recognized something from having seen it in the mirror himself: fear.
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” he said, bewildered. “I can’t believe it. You of all people, afraid of what the future holds. So you’re pulling the plug before you lose control?”
Reece was dumbfounded. He’d never suspected his closest friend wasn’t as sure of himself on the inside as he appeared on the outside.
This had him stymied. “Tim … ” He struggled for the right words with which to encourage his friend. “I’ve watched you take on challenges that would have brought many a good man to his knees. You always stressed that to believe in myself only required the knowledge that God’s always got my back. You gonna tell me now that you really don’t believe that?”
“It’s not that simple,” Tim blurted. “What if people don’t respond favorably? Then what?”
“Well, my best friend is always telling me, ‘Just put one foot in front of the other and see where God leads you.’” Reece said, knowing that had been what Tim needed to hear.

†

Our greatest enemy to accomplishing God’s tasks is the one within. We all, at some level, fight Moses’ battle against inner fear. Satan introduces doubt couched in the fear of rejection and failure or even our past. He intends to use them as a means to stop us from reaching for a higher level of accomplishment.
Self-sufficiency is a weighty and dangerous thing. Only when we realize that God will equip us completely for His work will we forge ahead.
Only God can defeat this enemy within. And then it’s only if we allow Him into the battle.

Prayer

“Lord, I hate being afraid. And I don’t readily admit to fear. Please send someone to encourage me to reach higher for Your purposes if I begin to falter. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”