He Knows Exactly What He’s Doing

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” —1 Peter 5:8

I just got back from South Africa, and I’m slowly settling back into my routine—jet lag and all. There’s something grounding about returning home and finding your rhythm again. One thing I’m especially excited about right now is that it’s Bible study season. Not only am I leading, but I’m also attending my sister’s study and Sarah’s. I love being in both spaces—teaching and learning, pouring out and being filled.

This afternoon, while I was fighting my internal clock and trying to stay awake, I sat down with the book we’re studying. Almost immediately, it felt like confirmation. This post has been sitting in my drafts for a while now. I wrote it some time ago, saved it, and kept moving. But in that quiet moment, it became clear—I need to share it now.

For the last several months, my work has kept me in a world most people don’t like to think about. I work in anti–human and sex trafficking, helping train and equip parents and professionals. It’s heavy work, but it’s meaningful. And it requires looking closely at how harm actually happens.

One word comes up constantly in this space: grooming.

It’s become a buzzword, which makes it easy to miss how simple—and strategic—it really is.

Grooming is the intentional process of identifying a vulnerability and exploiting it over time.

That’s it.

What stopped me mid-work, though, was this realization: the tactics used to groom children are the same tactics Satan uses on adults.

He doesn’t come in darkness.

He doesn’t lead with fear.

He leads with what’s familiar.

With what feels good.

With what looks harmless—even helpful.

Satan is not chaotic. He is calculated.

He studies us. He knows our habits, our emotional patterns, and the exact moments we’re most vulnerable. He knows what comforts us, what exhausts us, what we reach for when we feel unseen or unsure—and he knows when to move.

Not when we’re strong and alert—but when we’re tired, distracted, or drifting.

As I was writing training material for parents, something happened in me. I realized I couldn’t talk about vulnerabilities without being willing to name my own. So I sat down with a pen and paper and asked myself a hard question:

If I were looking to exploit me, where would I start?

I wrote down the places where my confidence wavers.

The relationships that still carry tension.

The areas where unforgiveness lingers quietly.

The moments when faith feels thinner and self-reliance steps in.

What emerged wasn’t shame—it was clarity.

I could suddenly see how those places had already been approached before. How familiar thoughts, patterns, or compromises had entered not as threats, but as relief. As justification. As something that made sense in the moment.

That’s when it became painfully clear: like any predator, Satan doesn’t target strength. He looks for openings. The unguarded places. The areas we avoid examining or have learned to live with.

And when he enters, it rarely feels like an attack.

It feels like validation.

Like permission.

Like rest.

That’s why grooming works—not because we’re foolish, but because we’re vulnerable.

The question isn’t whether Satan knows our weaknesses.

The question is whether we do.

Because awareness changes everything.

When we name our vulnerabilities, we remove the element of surprise.

When we invite Jesus into the places we avoid examining, we close doors the enemy depends on.

When we stay alert—not fearful, but awake—we take control out of his hands.

Not by being perfect.

But by being honest.

So here’s my invitation to you.

Take a quiet moment. Grab a pen and a piece of paper. And ask yourself the same question—not with fear, but with honesty:

If the enemy were looking for access into my life, where would he start?

Don’t rush past it. Don’t spiritualize it away. Let the answers surface. The places where you’re tired. The places where you’ve learned to cope instead of heal.

This isn’t about self-criticism.

It’s about self-awareness.

Because when we are willing to bring things into the light, they lose their power in the dark.

Stay awake.

Stay honest.

And invite Jesus into the places that matter most.

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My Prayer:

Lord,

Search us—not to expose us, but to protect us.

Show us the places where we are tired, distracted, or vulnerable, and help us invite You there first.

Give us discernment to recognize what doesn’t come from You, even when it looks familiar or appealing.

Guard our hearts, renew our minds, and strengthen our faith.

Make us alert, anchored, and unafraid—rooted in truth and covered by Your grace.

Amen.