Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind...

by Louie Giglio

I could see myself sitting at a table, with the Good Shepherd across from me. He had led me through dark valleys to reach the table, and I didn’t need to be afraid, even though the fiery trials weren’t all resolved. My place at the table didn’t mean that my enemies would be removed from the equation. In fact, the table was set right in the middle of my enemies. That captivated my imagination and held my attention. I didn’t need to vindicate myself. I didn’t need to clear my name. I didn’t need to control this equation or work overtime to improve it. My task was to concentrate on the Good Shepherd, the One who owned the table.

Sometimes we are distracted by what is around and forget to focus on what is right in front of us.

The Good Shepherd was guiding me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Dark valleys and hard times were part of those paths, yet He would be with me and see me through every threatening night.

I knew that a major tactic of the Devil was to prowl around my life. 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.

you have power, through Jesus Christ, to take authority over who sits at your table—over who influences your thinking. You can take back your freedom and control your thoughts and emotions. You don’t need to be trapped by fear, despair, or rage. Your mind doesn’t have to be stressed. You don’t need to wrestle anymore with harmful thoughts. You are invited to an intimate relationship with the Almighty. 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.

When it comes to not giving the Enemy a seat at your table, we have to start by wrapping our minds around this difficult truth: life is hard, yet Jesus invites us to follow Him anyway.

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.

And did you notice the two phrases repeated three times in Habakkuk’s prayer? Even though . . . I will . . .

I have not lost my faith. In fact, my faith is even greater. I’m still going to rejoice in the Lord. I’m still going to worship God. I’m not going to get sidetracked by attitudes or actions that harm me. When I encounter hard times, my faith inflates.”

Even though _________________ . . . Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior!

Even though I'm having an identity crisis, of feeling a lack of belonging and not fitting in a place, Even though I feel confused and frustrated, I will rejoice in the Lord, my Savior!

When you allow Jesus to be your Shepherd, He steps into this stressed-out culture and becomes your replenishing guide. He leads you, watches over you, and gives you rest. Jesus gives you purpose. He shows you how to deal with your enemies so they don’t tear you apart inside. Jesus gives you a hope and a future, and He’ll restore your soul. He’ll give you goodness and love for today, for tomorrow, and for every day for the rest of your life.

Jesus gives you purpose. So powerful.

See, when God refers to us as sheep, it’s a reflection of how we are wired, although it’s not necessarily a compliment. Sheep need leadership. God’s not saying that we’re cute and cuddly. He’s saying it’s far too easy for us to have the wool pulled over our eyes. We don’t see with as much discernment as we should.

In a word, the Good Shepherd is . . . good. Because of His great love for us, Jesus always acts with our ultimate well-being in mind. The goodness of God can be found in all He is and says and does.

The Enemy only needs the tiniest crack. A sliver of opportunity. The smallest window of doubt or uncertainty. Just like that, the Devil is sitting at your table, beginning to win the battle for your mind.

Romans 8:10–12 says that the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of us. This same resurrection power is available to us.

When this unwelcome visitor shows up, he’s often quiet at first. Friendly even. You might not recognize him when he first sits down. The Devil doesn’t arrive with a brightly flashing neon pitchfork.

The Devil shows up in a disguise that is desirable to our flesh.

He often appears to be on your side at the start. He promises you relief from your troubles. Second Corinthians 11:14 describes how Satan “masquerades as an angel of light,” which means that the Devil rarely comes to the table showing his true colors—someone whose sole purpose is to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Instead, the Devil takes the form of someone who’s helpful, someone who appears to have your best interest at heart, someone who offers you respite from whatever pain you’re feeling.

He wants to gain access to your mind so he can destroy you. He wants to get inside your head so harmful thoughts can be planted within you. Those thoughts will grow unchecked and spill out into actions. He wants you to be overtaken by wickedness. He wants to steal everything that is valuable from you. He wants to kill your relationship with God.

First, if you’ve heard recently that it’s better at another table, then you can be certain the Enemy is at your table. Jesus’ table, the one He prepares for you, is about life and life abundantly (John 10:10).

He tells you exactly what you want to hear and shows you exactly what you think you’re looking for.

We call this “the grass is always greener” syndrome. If you’re not firmly seated at the table with the Almighty, if your eyes are not locked on those of the Good Shepherd, then you’re distracted by the tyranny of comparison.

The Enemy masterfully paints an inviting picture of freedom. It’s over there—where the grass is always greener.

Your Shepherd didn’t just say you’re going to the valley. He said you are going through the valley. In other words—you are going to make it.

His miracle plan is to give you the grace and the power to miraculously go through the troubled waters. “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there!” (Psalm 77:19 NLT).

THE HOLY ONE INVITED YOU HERE. BOOKED THE TABLE. PREPARED THE MEAL. SAT DOWN TO JOIN YOU. AND THIS RESERVATION COST HIM EVERYTHING.

Jesus has put it all on the line to be sitting at the table with you!

You need to ask God to refresh your soul and guide you along righteous paths of healing and restoration for His name’s sake.

The truth that God is for you and not against you matters greatly.

To be loved requires that you eventually agree with God and come to love yourself.

Jesus wants your life to reflect the bounty of your table. He wants your life to overflow.

Generosity is the calling card of everyone who dines regularly with the King. You don’t hoard God’s blessings. You pass out steak dinners to everyone around you. Even your enemies!

Elisha had a choice. Freak out. Fold. Or look up. Elisha chose to look up and lean into an “even though / I will” faith. He declared, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). And then he prayed. Not for himself. Not for deliverance from the pursuing army. Elisha prayed for his servant. Weird, no? Why would he do that? Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see” (v. 17).

But the Spirit of God is interceding for you: Lord, open her spiritual eyes; Father, let him see with the eyes of faith.

God has everyone and everything that’s surrounding you surrounded. Don’t give the Enemy a seat at your table.

Jesus didn’t send a message or a messenger to tell you how valuable you are. He came Himself. He paid the price. He is the prize. He’s waited an eternity (literally) for you to join Him. And He’s sitting across from you telling you that He thinks you are worth it.

Whenever you allow the Devil to sit, he worms his way into a dinner party that belongs to you and God alone. The Enemy begins to devour the abundant life meant for you. He’s eating your lunch, so to speak. You start heading down the pathway toward sin and death. Death, in this sense, is spiritual death—not eternal condemnation for believers, but the destruction of the close relationship you are meant to fully and deeply enjoy with God.

The Enemy wants to kill your dreams. He wants to bury the purpose God has placed inside of you. He wants to steal your sense of self-worth and confidence and hope.

The Enemy says things such as, Surely God’s holding out on you—you can’t trust Him. He essentially told Eve, If you eat from this fruit, your eyes are going to be opened; you’re going to be like God. The Enemy appeals to your basic human needs.

Don’t fall for the lies. Don’t chase the lure. Don’t give the Enemy a seat at your table.

That’s key because it’s far too easy to think we’re not sinning merely because we’re not acting on a sinful thought. Here’s the fact: the thought itself falls short of the glory of God.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”

The frightening reality is this: once we let a harmful thought pitch a tent in our mind, eventually that temptation is acted on.

When we sin, we feel frustrated. Guilty. Ashamed. It’s because we are falling short of what God intended us to be.

But as soon as you eat the fruit and hit guilt, shame, and frustration, the Enemy changes roles. He shifts from being the enticer and promiser to becoming the accuser and the condemner.

If you’ve gone astray, there’s always hope for you. You can come back to God.

God. Will. Provide. A. Way. Out.

Because Jesus has already won the victory over sin, you have access to this victory too. You are freed from sin’s quicksand by living in your new identity.

Colossians 3:3 talks about how our lives are “hidden with Christ.” Imagine a hidden room in a house, or a hidden pocket inside a coat. When something is hidden, it’s both concealed and secure. Our brand-new righteousness isn’t fleeting. It’s protected and safe. Train your mind and heart to believe that you are a new creation. Your righteousness is safe because of Christ.

God Almighty took on the form of a human who took the full weight of the world’s sins on the cross. Jesus suffered and died and was raised to life again. That is what has won the battle.

First Corinthians 15:57 says, “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Train your mind and heart to see yourself as victorious in Christ.