This is when we thwart our own success before we let anyone else even try!  

Proverbs 14:1-35

Reference:  v.1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  The first saying that came to mind when I read verse 1 of chapter 14 was 'she's her own worst enemy'.  This is when we thwart our own success before we let anyone else even try!  We had a family friend who was trying to find work.  After writing many applications he would finally get to the interview stage only to freak out the day before, convince himself that he was not good enough for the job and so not turn up for the interview.  He was rejected himself before he even gave the interviewers the chance to.  He was his own worst enemy.  I had a friend at uni who desperately wanted a boyfriend.  Her desperate pleas lead to a number of her friends trying to set her up with their associates.  But her friends gradually stopped trying after they heard she was either an absolute mess on the date or a total no-show.  Her desire to have a boyfriend made her so anxious that she could never present herself well when the date came around.  She was her own worst enemy.

Application:  There are times when we too can be our own worst enemy, when we end up sabotaging our own progress.  Sometimes we don't even need another person to help, we just self-annihilate.  But the wise person who walks with God stops themselves from taking that path.  When we see ourselves with God's eyes then we have more clarity about how we should live and what we should aim for.  There will be many more opportunities ahead of us that give us the chance to be our own worst enemy, however we must aim to be diligent in the Lord and move forward in progress rather than destroy the person God has created us to be.

Prayer:  Lord, you have made us all uniquely and yet you desire abundant life for all.  Open our eyes when we start down the path of self-destruction and help us to see the abundant life that you offer us.  Amen.

When have you sabotaged your own progress?  How did you stop yourself from doing that again?