Defeating the Enemy Within
In this article, I am sharing an excerpt from Chapter 7 of my book Fierce Peace. This book is about living in God’s peace that is stronger than every storm.
We often think of trials as the things that wear us down, break us, or introduce fear into our lives. But what if trials don’t put weakness in us—what if they simply reveal what was already there? Scripture shows us that the real battle we face isn’t external; it’s internal. The enemies we see on the outside often serve to expose the greater enemy within. Let’s take a deeper look at how fear, not external opposition, is often the real giant standing in our way.
FIERCE PEACE
Living in a peace that’s stronger than the storm.
Defeating The Enemy Within
I’m a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and while the movies don’t always do the greatest job following the narrative of the books, I still like watching them. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie, the magician who helps the kids find their way lets them know that they are all about to be tested. But he gives them a key to overcome. He says, “To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself.” He points to the fact that the real battle is internal.
I alluded to this back in Chapter 4 when I said we need to learn how to calm the storm inside of us so we can handle the storms around us. If you can defeat the enemy within, you can handle any enemy outside. In fact, I propose that the greater enemy you face isn’t on the outside, it’s on the inside. Let me explain.
I want to look at three stories in scripture that essentially tell the same story—
David and Goliath – 1 Samuel 17
Jesus sleeping in the storm – Mark 4:35–41
The disciples locked in the upper room – John 20:19–29
In each story, the people of God were crippled by fear, and it hindered their God-given destiny. 1 Samuel 17:11 says the people of God were dismayed and greatly terrified. Why? Because they had listened to voice of the giant. We saw in Mark 4 that the disciples were freaked out because they listened to the voice of the storm. Then in John 20:19, the disciples were locked in a room because they were afraid the Jews were going to kill them the same way they did to Jesus.
Look what Romans 8:15 (NET) says: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” I’ve always looked at this verse as talking about a spirit of fear, but that’s not what it says. It says a spirit of slavery leads to fear. Slavery is when you submit to a master. You are slaves to the one whom you obey (see Rom. 6:16). Whoever you submit to determines your environment. Your master determines your environment.
When Jesus is our Master, we get the benefits of His environment, or kingdom—righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Our Master doesn’t lead us to fear but to the Father. But in this case, the spirit of slavery leads to an environment to fear. In each story, the people of God submitted to the wrong voice, and it created their environment. To reiterate—Israel listened to Goliath, and they were crippled by fear. The disciples listened to the storm, and they were crippled by fear. The disciples later listened to the potential death threat of the Jews, and they were crippled by fear.
I’ve asked this before, but let’s go again:
Whose voice are you listening to? Whose voice are you letting tell the story?
Whoever you submit to determines your environment. The disciples on the boat let the voice of the storm be their master. Yet, when they woke Jesus up, they called Him Master (Luke 8:24). He was Master with their mouths but not Master in their hearts! In that moment, they switched allegiances and got the fruit of their choice. They experienced the spirit of slavery that leads to fear.
Thank God that’s not the Spirit He has for us. He gave us the spirit of adoption. We are welcomed into the family of God where we get to hear the voice of the Father speaking life and love over us! His voice crushes the contrary words and thoughts.
The greater enemy they all faced was actually within. One of the best keys to defeating the enemy within is outlined in James 4:7 (NIV): “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Yield yourself to the voice of the Father.
Let’s look at this a little deeper.
Unseen Enemy
What’s interesting to me is that in each story, the enemy moved deeper into the unseen realm. Israel faced a literal person. An ugly, giant, gangly looking guy who probably smelled pretty bad and could talk trash (my personal description). Then later, the disciples faced not a person but a storm. Then even further, when the disciples were locked in the upper room, they faced a threat.
Many times, we want to point the finger and say that our problems come from all these external factors. We’d like to blame our upbringing, our family, our boss, our leaders, our job, our bad relationships, and those things do have an impact on our lives—but at the end of the day, we have to take responsibility for where our lives are at. With the help of God, we can break free.
Israel could’ve pointed at the giant as their problem. But it was really the fact that they submitted to his taunting and let their hearts be filled with fear. The disciples could’ve said that the storm was their biggest problem. Don’t get me wrong, water coming into your boat in the middle of a storm is a problem—but letting fear into your heart is a greater problem. You won’t be able to face your problem adequately if fear is running the show. The disciples in the upper room could’ve said they were stuck because the threat of the Jews. But I propose they were stuck because of fear. In the Book of Acts, they couldn’t care less about the threats they experienced, which tells me once the fear is dealt with, the mission goes on.
I said earlier that the greater, or real enemy, isn’t on the outside—it’s on the inside.
Goliath wasn’t the real enemy—it was fear.
The storm wasn’t the real enemy—it was fear.
The Jews weren’t the real enemy—it was fear.
Jesus calmed the storm that threatened the death of the disciples, but the same disciples were afraid of death again when they were locked in the room.
In other words, He took the outside enemy away, but the inside enemy still remained—to prove that the outside enemy wasn’t the real problem; it was fear on the inside. In fact, many times the outside enemy works to bring to the surface what was already there in the first place. The outside enemies are just pawns in the greater narrative of the grace of God to transform our lives. God uses Goliath to expose our greater need to be free on the inside. The greater enemy, the thing that hinders you, needs to be defeated on the inside.
Every trial we face is an opportunity—a chance to see what’s really inside of us and allow God to bring transformation. Goliath, the storm, and the threats against the disciples weren’t just obstacles; they were mirrors, revealing where fear had taken root. The good news is that Jesus doesn’t just calm the external storms; He wants to quiet the storms within us. The question is, whose voice will you listen to? Will you submit to fear, or will you yield to the voice of the Father?
If you want to defeat the enemy within, start here:
Recognize the wrong voice—Is fear shaping your response?
Shift your submission—Turn your focus back to God through prayer and worship.
Resist the enemy—Reject fear and embrace the truth of God’s Word.
Step forward in faith—Don’t let fear paralyze you; take action trusting that God is with you.
The real battle is won inside first—because once the enemy within is defeated, nothing outside can shake you.
Question: How is God using a current trial to reveal something in you that needs to change? Let’s talk in the comments!
Want to go deeper? This article is an excerpt from my book, Fierce Peace, where I explore how to overcome fear and walk in God’s peace. If you’re ready to dominate fear and live in the confidence of His peace, grab your copy here: Breaker Ministries store or Amazon (affiliate link).