More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Louie Giglio
Don’t give the Enemy a seat at your table.
Don’t give the Enemy a seat. Don’t entertain his ideas. These thoughts are not from a good and trustworthy Shepherd. Move on.
My task was to concentrate on the Good Shepherd, the One who owned the table.
My destiny was set. I didn’t need to be afraid. The Shepherd was at the table, and He would see to it that I was going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So maybe I couldn’t stop the Devil from prowling around my table, but in Jesus’ name I definitely did have the choice whether I allowed the Enemy to sit down.
The table He’s prepared for you is one of peace, clarity, and abundance. You don’t have to give the Enemy a seat at your table.
The Devil wants nothing more than to crush you. He wants to steal from you everything you value. He wants to kill everything in your life that’s good. Ultimately, he wants to destroy you. If he can claim the victory over your mind, he can eventually claim the victory over your life.
Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my savior. (Habakkuk 3:17–18 GNT)
Even though bad things happen, I will still praise the Lord. Even though bad things happen, I will not let my mind be lost to the Enemy.
Developing this kind of “even though / I will” faith changes the temperature and trajectory of your life. When the pressure mounts, this kind of faith doesn’t deflate. Instead, it actually inflates. It becomes bolder. More resolute and undaunted. More robust.
But Jesus says, Lie down in green pastures. Get some rest. Stop trying to manage all the outcomes. Take a break in the midst of the craziness of your day and acknowledge that I’m a Good Shepherd and I have your best interest at heart. By the way, while you’re resting, go ahead and eat some green grass. Allow Me to nourish your soul. That’s how I operate. I love you and take care of you, and any directive that I give you will be for your own benefit.
Any guesses why the water that the Good Shepherd leads His sheep to is specifically described as “still”? It’s because sheep lack self-awareness. If a sheep sees a roaring river, it thinks that’s a good place to get its thirst quenched. Never mind that sheep are covered with five sweaters’ worth of wool. The sheep gets so jazzed at the sight of any water that he sticks his head straight down into that rushing river. All fifteen pounds of wool become soaking wet. Kersplash. The sheep gets sucked straight into the roaring river. Now he’s heading for the rapids, looking back for a bailout from
...more
Because you don’t need to pray anymore, God, I’m in a storm—help me. Instead, you pray, God, I’m in a storm. Thank You for being in this storm with me. You’ve got my back. How are we going to get through this together?
You can say, “In Jesus’ name, I won’t entertain your words, your thoughts, your influence.”
humility is not thinking less of yourself; humility is thinking of yourself less.
The oil provided a protective shield that prevented these irritants from finding safe harbor in the wool around the sheep’s face and nose. God, through His Word, wants to protect you from aggravation, lies, and deceit.
With sin in your life, you lose your peace, effectiveness, confidence, and cheerfulness.
When that temptation or harmful thought comes our way, it’s probably not going to look bad—not at first. Initially it promises something good. Sin offers a solution. Sin guarantees relief. If you’re down, sin brings you up. If you’re stuck, sin shows the way out. If you’re miserable, sin promises comfort. If you’re outraged, sin offers the perfect justice. If you’re lonely, sin becomes your best friend. All lies.
Sin is never the magic elixir it claims to be. Sin is a mirage, always overpromising and underdelivering.
Instead of taking you up to God things, they take you down to the basement of defeat because that’s where they’re living.
Condemnation is done from a posture of hate. Conviction is done from a posture of love.
Condemnation comes from guilt. Conviction is born out of grace. Condemnation leads you to conceal your sin. Conviction urges you to confess it. Condemnation results in remorse (feeling bad about what you did). Conviction calls you to repentance (turning to go the other way). Condemnation prompts you to rededicate. Conviction demands full surrender. Condemnation is a path to future failure. Conviction is a highway to real change.
Whatever is . . . true noble right pure lovely admirable excellent praiseworthy
milquetoast
THE ENEMY WANTS TO DEFINE YOU BY YOUR SCARS. JESUS WANTS TO DEFINE YOU BY HIS SCARS.
You came to the mountain with information. But yesterday you caught a glimpse of revelation.
I could be a person who knew about God, or I could take up the invitation to truly know God.
But that’s tinfoil praise. God’s glory is far different. God’s glory isn’t fleeting. His glory isn’t measured in a headline. The Hebrew word for glory is kabod, again conveying two concepts: “weight” and “worth.”4
Scripture clearly tells us that we become what we worship (Psalm 115:8). When we set our gaze on the Almighty, we change into the likeness of the One who has captivated our souls. And we reflect His glory.
And God wants the enemies to watch you shine. Why? Because in time they will stop gawking at you and turn their attention to the One who has the ability to keep your face beaming (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10–11).
One of the big ways to gain victory in your mind is to think less about the Devil or about the evil you’re trying to avoid and to think more about God and the truth you’re aiming to embrace. One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is the ability to memorize Scripture.
Whatever you give shelter and sustenance to in your mind is ultimately what will grow in your garden. You’re going to reap what you sow.
“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
“You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13–14).
“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 BSB).
I am dispatched by the Holy Spirit, on kingdom assignments, to be light in a darkened world, so others can see Jesus.
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).
“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NASB).
I don’t want to get to the end of my days and look back to see a cookie-cutter life that looks like what society says a normal life should be.
Too often we want to see miracles first, before we take a step. We’re like, “Okay God, do something great, and then I’ll take the step. Give me all the right words first, and then I’ll take the microphone. Give me all the money first, and then I’ll start what You’ve called me to do. Provide the spouse I need, and then I’ll step into the unknown.” But the fullness of the life that Jesus provides becomes evident to us often when we move, when we act on His leading, when we open our mouths and speak. The steps we take in faith activate the power of the Spirit.
