The next day Mr. Erwin was watering the trees in his garden with his crutches by his side when Kay and Jay arrived. It was extra hot for a fall morning but that didn't stop Kay from wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Jay's left eye was black and blue and he had a cut on his left knuckle. Mr. Erwin knew all too well that spiritual battles turn into physical battles. He wished he could go to school and deal with the boys messing with Jay, but just like with his own son, he knew Jay would have to fight his own battle and learn how to win in order to grow.

“What's the first D?” asked Kay. “Jay and I have been trying to figure it out all morning.”

Mr. Erwin smiled. He loved that they weren't scared but rather eager to learn the enemy's game plan. Because once they learned the Five D's, he would be able to teach them how to overcome them and win.

He said, “The first D is Doubt. The enemy begins his quest to defeat you by creating doubt that God can't be trusted. If you read the story of Adam and Eve, you'll see that when the serpent first started talking to Eve he asked, ‘Did God really say that you couldn't eat from all the trees in the Garden?’ The truth was that God said they couldn't eat from just that one tree. But by asking this question, the enemy was creating doubt in the mind of Eve that God can't be trusted, that He was withholding the best from them.

“Today the enemy plants seeds of doubt in our mind all the time. You see others doing well and thriving and you wonder why they are doing so well but you aren't. You see others achieve their dream while yours seems more like a fantasy than a reality. You see others having success and you feel like a failure. You wonder if God likes them more than you, and you begin to resent God and lose trust in Him. God gave Adam and Eve a choice and His central question of them and us is this: will you trust me? The enemy's main goal is to break this trust by creating doubt.”

Mr. Erwin placed the watering hose on the ground. “Is this making sense?” he asked as he wiped his hands on his pants to get the water and dirt off.

“I doubt myself all the time,” said Jay. “I don't think I'll ever make it as a musician or filmmaker. And I guess I doubt God for making me the way He did.” He looked at the cut on his hand, “Why do I have to be the one who is bullied?”

“Self-doubt ironically doesn't come from self. Remember that,” said Mr. Erwin. “God made you perfectly and you are the way you are for a reason and a purpose. The fact that you doubt who you are and your future means the enemy is filling your mind with doubt. You would never do that to yourself. Your identity is being attacked and the bullying is a painful experience that is reinforcing this doubt and causing you to forget you are a child of God.”

“I have all these doubts about my ability to do well in cheering, said Kay. “I worry I'm going to make a mistake. I worry people will find out I'm not really that good. I worry I'm going to let my coaches and team down.”

“That's because the enemy is filling your mind with these doubts and fears, said Mr. Erwin. You would never choose doubt so remember these doubts aren't coming from you. These doubts appear and then you feel like you must be perfect to compensate. You don't trust God so you try to be perfect like God. But you aren't perfect and you know this and it causes a lot of stress.”

“I know,” said Kay, as she lifted up her sleeves to show Mr. Erwin the cuts on her wrist.

Mr. Erwin took a step closer towards Jay and Kay. He faced them and put his hands on their shoulders. “I know what you are going through. My sweet daughter went through the same thing. You are not alone. You must trust, trust, trust,” he said. “Not in yourself but in God.” Mr. Erwin then gestured his arm to all the trees lining the perimeter of the backyard. “Remember, God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from all the trees of the Garden. But what did the serpent do? He was able to create doubt that God can't be trusted and as a result got them to focus instead on the one tree they couldn't eat from. God provided abundance and the enemy was able to get them to focus on what they lacked.

“The enemy is doing the same to both of you. You both have so many God-given talents and the enemy is causing you to doubt God, doubt yourself, and focus on what you lack instead.”

Jay and Kay looked at each other and then at Mr. Erwin. He could see the sadness on their faces.

“Don't let this bring you down,” he said. “The enemy is very skilled at creating doubt. So skilled that he has even convinced many that God doesn't exist. Like this world and universe could somehow happen by accident. Like all of this somehow randomly and accidently came together. Somehow we are just the right distance from the sun and have just the right amount of oxygen and all the conditions and our ecosystem magically and somehow accidentally work together to create and sustain life. Come on! So many forget we are living on a liquid rock traveling through space around a great ball of fire we call the sun at 60,000 mph and spinning 1,000 mph.

“The enemy is good at convincing people to ignore God's miracles that exist all around them. So don't blame yourself. You didn't know how the battle was being waged but now you do. Now you know it starts with Doubt. The enemy knows if he can get you to doubt God you will believe his lies. And if you believe his lies you won't trust God. It's a game of deception but we are on to it. This leads us to the next D's, and they are Distort and Discourage.”