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

by Louie Giglio

It’s not up to us to stop his prowling. But it is up to us to keep him from sitting at our table.

When you are up against life and death, when your back’s against the wall, when circumstances are poised to take you out, and when the Devil is whispering lies in your ear, you need to know there’s an all-powerful Good Shepherd with a rod in one hand and a staff in the other.

the Devil is the worst kind of salesman. He tells you exactly what you want to hear and shows you exactly what you think you’re looking for.

The Enemy masterfully paints an inviting picture of freedom.

Are you close to doing something that you know is contrary to God’s best?

Where did you hear those words of gloom and doubt? Not from your Good Shepherd. You likely heard them from the Enemy at your table.

We’re going through this valley, and I’m going to be with you all the way through. And guess what—we’re going to have a story to tell on the other side.

He parted the sea so they could walk through it. Oftentimes God’s plan is not to build a bridge over troubled waters. Instead, His miracle plan is to give you the grace and the power to miraculously go through the troubled waters.

I no longer seek the presence of Jesus. I seek the person of Jesus.

I have God (Father, Son, and Spirit) living in me.

I do not need to ask for His presene or for Him to be with me because He already is!

the Holy One invited you here. Booked the table. Prepared the meal. Sat down to join you. And this reservation cost Him everything.

universe. When God is walking you through the valley, you can stop worrying about managing all the outcomes.

When you and I remind ourselves of that truth, we’re more prone to lay aside any fears, turn the attention off ourselves, and open our hands and hearts toward helping others.

So the shepherd would cover the sheep’s head in oil. The oil provided a protective shield that prevented these irritants from finding safe harbor in the wool around the sheep’s face and nose.

Jesus didn’t send a message or a messenger to tell you how valuable you are. He came Himself. He paid the price.

for you in the presence of your enemies. The pressure of life is all around you, yet your Almighty God has invited you to sit and dine.

When life gets tough, we return to our familiar sins, even though we know they’re harmful.

The spiral begins this way: a temptation or thought that’s not from God comes into your mind. Stop right there. Identify that reality.

The fisherman never advertises the hook. He advertises the reward.

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 a mirage, always overpromising and underdelivering.

when a harmful thought or temptation first enters your mind, that is not sin—not in and of itself.

when a harmful thought or temptation comes into our minds, we have a choice. We can either discard that thought or entertain it. If we discard it, good. But if we entertain it, that’s when the Devil sits at our table.

thought muddies our relationship with the Lord. The thought itself occupies our mind and has the power to knock us off course. Romans 12:2 gives this stiff warning: “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

Harmful actions always begin with harmful thoughts, and harmful thoughts, harbored over time, always lead to harmful actions. Those thoughts must be stopped.

Proverbs 14:12–13 lays this out plainly. “There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak” (THE MESSAGE).

Have you ever noticed how government officials condemn buildings before they smash them to the ground? That’s what the Enemy wants to do to you. He wants to flatten you to rubble. If he can accuse you, he can condemn you.

one huge difference between God and Satan is that the Enemy will condemn you, but God will convict you.

Condemnation is done from a posture of hate. Conviction is done from a posture of love.

Hiding is one of the worst things we can do.

The unmet longing that got you into the mess in the first place is exposed again. You need love. You need peace. You need understanding. You need worth, significance, purpose, and fulfillment in your life. You’re right back where you started. That’s when the Enemy places his shiny fishing lure in front of you again and says, Hey, you need some pleasure. Remember how good you felt—at least for a moment—the last time when we went down this road? Let’s do it again.

The solution is surrender.

Psalm 23:4–5. We will still walk through dark valleys throughout our entire lives. We will still sit at a table that’s surrounded by enemies. The battle isn’t won because the pressure lets up. No. The battle is won because of who walks with us through the dark valleys and who sits at the table with us when we’re surrounded by troubles.

Colossians 3:3 talks about how our lives are “hidden with Christ.”

You took the way out—in this case, the way to stay out.

If you want a way out, God is faithful. The Holy Spirit will give you a way out, and the Holy Spirit will give you another out, and the Holy Spirit, in His mercy, will give you another out after that. The doorways might become smaller and smaller the further along you go.

Intimacy with God is the way to true fulfillment. How do you keep the Enemy from sitting at your table? You keep your eyes on Christ.

When you feel down, it’s usually because needs of yours aren’t being met.

I won the battle of my mind. I woke up every day convinced God was going to accomplish through me all He had called me to do. I believed I could be who He created me to be.

Victory is about examining the seeds that have been scattered in your mind and not letting them take root.

“As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). One way or another, those thoughts will harm us.

Victory is not about something you do. That’s not the message here. The message is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s about what Jesus does for you. Jesus won the total victory Himself. God makes the way. So how do you live in victory?

of any trouble that has come against you. If you are living in defeat, it’s because you are allowing yourself to live in defeat. If you are losing the battle of your mind, it’s because you are not willing to step up and say, “There’s a fight to be fought, and I’m going to fight the battle to win my mind because I have the power of the finished work of Jesus.”

First, you identify any deceptive thought in your mind.

The next step is to bind that thought in Jesus’ name. Look at the terminology in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” When you take something captive, you arrest it. You seize it by legal authority and put it into custody.

to. I’m using the power that’s available to me because of the Holy Spirit, and with that power I’m choosing to live in agreement with You. This thought is taken captive. The thought holds no power over me. The thought is out of here. The thought is carted off to jail.”

See, if a thought

is not taken captive by you in Jesus’ name, that thought will take you captive. You

When you fill your mind with Scripture, you get to control the playlist of your mind. You become the DJ of your own thoughts.

Instead of playing defense with the harmful thoughts that come your way, you take action and deliberately place helpful thoughts into your mind. Here are the categories to think about as found in Philippians 4:8. Whatever is . . . true noble right pure lovely admirable excellent praiseworthy