How the Enemy Destroys You from the Inside Out | Judges 6:1-6

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Our text today is Judges 6:1–6.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. — Judges 6:1-6

The story of Gideon, in chapter 6, begins with a tragic pattern: sin, oppression, despair. This time, it’s the Midianites who overrun Israel.

They don’t just raid; they ruin. They strip the land bare like locusts, leaving nothing behind. Year after year, the Israelites hide in caves and watch their harvest vanish. This is a defeat on two levels:

Outside: The enemy takes what sustains life.
Inside: Fear drains the will to fight.
When God’s people abandon Him, the enemy doesn’t just win battles — he slowly erodes courage, hope, and identity until they’re shadows of who they once were.

That’s how the enemy works today. He targets more than your circumstances — he aims at your spirit. First, he gets you to compromise, breaking down your guard. Then he keeps showing up, relentlessly, until you’re hiding instead of fighting. He is relentless.

For some of us, the “Midianites” are obvious sins. For others, it’s a slow creep of fear, bitterness, shame, or distraction that saps spiritual strength. Either way, the result is the same: the land of your life is stripped bare. Because the "Midianites" are relentless then and today.

The only way to fight a relentless enemy is with a relentless return to God. Israel didn’t find victory in a stronger hiding place — they found it when they cried out. You can’t outlast the enemy by retreating deeper into fear; you defeat him by trusting in God and running with complete abandon to God. Is it time to run relentlessly to God? So what compromise in your life has led to your retreat? Identify it and then run relentlessly back to God.

ASK THIS:
What “Midianite” is stripping away your spiritual strength right now?
Have you been hiding from the problem instead of facing it with God’s help?
Where do you see signs of inside-out destruction in your life?
What’s one step toward God you can take today to push the enemy back?
DO THIS:
Name one area where fear or compromise has made you retreat. Instead of hiding from it today, bring it to God in prayer and take one practical step to address it in His strength.

PRAY THIS:
Lord, expose the enemy’s work in my life. Keep me from hiding in fear. Teach me to run toward You, not away from the fight, and restore what’s been stripped away. Amen.

PLAY THIS:
"Defender."