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

by Louie Giglio

As negative thoughts would enter my mind, I’d say to myself, Don’t give the Enemy a seat. Don’t entertain his ideas. These thoughts are not from a good and trustworthy Shepherd. Move on.

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 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 Good Shepherd prepares a table for you. It’s a table for two, and the Devil is not invited to sit.

God as a personal and attentive Shepherd, One who intimately cares for the sheep yet is tough enough to defend them against attacks. This Shepherd will make sure you are rested and well fed. But He’ll also beat back all those who threaten your safety and well-being.

God has prepared a table right in the middle of the battle.

the same holy God invites us to dine with Him, and the invitation comes at a high price: Jesus.

Even though I am surrounded by enemies, God has prepared a table for me, and I will sit down with Him.

the true importance of this table is not what’s on it. The wonder of this meal is not the food. It’s about who you’re at the table with.

you have the power as a son or daughter of Jesus Christ to exercise faith that’s defiant of the Devil’s whisper. You can say, “In Jesus’ name, I won’t entertain your words, your thoughts, your influence.”

He’s your hero. Your defender. He’s the mighty Son of God! 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.

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.

Even though times are tough, God’s rod and staff are with you. Even though times are hard, you are not alone. God knows you’re going through a hard time. He knows the way is dark. He hasn’t promised to deliver you from the trouble. He’s promised to see you through the trouble. There’s a big difference.

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. “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there!” (Psalm 77:19 NLT).

When God is walking you through the valley, you can stop worrying about managing all the outcomes. You can stop looking over your shoulder. You can take the boxing gloves off.

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

When the Enemy tells you you’re not smart enough, you’re not strong enough, you don’t have the right background, you’re not pretty enough, you don’t matter enough . . . look up and lock eyes with the King. Hear Him say, Daughter—Son—there’s nowhere I’d rather be than at this table with you.

He has to flee in Jesus’ name.

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

God. Will. Provide. A. Way. Out. That’s bedrock truth. A promise to you from Almighty God. We don’t need to allow the Enemy to pull up a seat at our table. We can live lives of victory. We can win the battle for our minds.

When eternity unfolds, Jesus won’t return to earth to fight sin again. He’ll return as the ultimate victor. Because Jesus has already won the victory over sin, you have access to this victory too.

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.

Victory is about examining the seeds that have been scattered in your mind and not letting them take root. It’s about pulling up and throwing away the thoughts that do not coincide with the heart of God. It’s about changing the way you think.

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of John 10 and Psalm 23, did not tell you that you’re a failure. He doesn’t prompt you to worry. He doesn’t provoke you to fear. He provides clarity, not chaos.

All the thoughts we entertain in our minds eventually get played out. Either our attitudes will reflect those deceptive thoughts or our behaviors will.

Why do you specifically pray or rebuke Satan in Jesus’ name? Because the power doesn’t come from you. It comes from Jesus.

Monday. My God knows my name. (Isaiah 43:1) Tuesday. My God goes before me. (Deuteronomy 31:8) Wednesday. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) Thursday. My present suffering pales in comparison to my future glory. (Romans 8:18) Friday. No weapon formed against me will prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) Saturday. I am a child of God. (Romans 8:16) Sunday. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me. (Ephesians 1:18–20)

“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Guilt is the position of being accountable for sins and shortcomings. It’s a legal term that points to remorse.

Shame, on the other hand, is the feeling of being defined by your sin and shortcomings. Shame acknowledges guilt, yet it intertwines the sin with your identity.

The pathway to freedom from both guilt and shame is the story of grace.

Repentance is not a negative thing. Your act of admitting guilt opens a doorway called grace, and God comes to you through that doorway and does for you what none of us can do for ourselves.

God changes your identity. The Enemy wants to define you by your scars. Jesus wants to define you by His scars.

can we just celebrate the fact that even if we deny Jesus, God still moves on with His plans? Even if we’re faithless, God is still faithful.)

your new identity doesn’t spring from you letting yourself off the hook. Your new identity springs from the realization that Jesus forgives you.

“it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”1

When you set your gaze on Jesus, your countenance changes. Literally. Hope begins to shine in your eyes.

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

the table is in the presence of your enemies so they can hear your song. With your eyes locked on Jesus, your worship will be uninterrupted. And your worship will become your weapon. Not only will God be exalted, but chains will break as you fight with this declaration: It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You, Jesus.

How do you win the battle for your mind? Keep your mind on Christ. Period.

the battle for your life is fought and won in your mind.

The way you go about stopping the Enemy from sitting at your table is by winning the battle for your mind. Winning the mind battle means replacing old, harmful thoughts with new, life-giving thoughts.

Random things are random. Evolved things are void of specific meaning. But created things have purpose.