part 4 of “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table”
It all started with a lie. Everything we know started with a lie. The way we see the world and the way the world is all started with a lie. One lie was all it took for the enemy to get a seat at Eve’s table. The same is true for us as well. Before we look at five lies the enemy might to get a seat at the table, let’s look at the lie that started it all.
“‘You won’t die!’ the serpent replied to the woman. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.’” - Genesis 3:4-5 NLT
Satan (the enemy) lied to Eve about God. If you look at what he said and then what happened, Satan didn’t lie. Adam and Eve didn’t die when they ate the fruit from the tree, but he left out the part where they would be subject to death after eating from the tree. Satan also didn’t lie when he told Eve she would know good and evil. I mean, after all, it’s in the name of the tree. As I said, he lied about God’s character to Eve. He made it appear that God was keeping something from them. He planted that seed of untrustworthiness. The Bible doesn’t say how long it took for this lie to take root, but it says that Eve was convinced (Genesis 3:6, NLT). But I know one thing, the enemy was already at her table before he said a word.
This is how the enemy works. He is quiet and sneaky. He weasels his way into a seat at the table - our table with the Good Shepherd. Then he starts in with the lies. Here are some of the lies he might tell to get a seat at the table[1]:
Lie #1 - The Lie of Comparison
The enemy loves to compare. He loves to move our focus to the lives of others and gets us to see how great they have it. The enemy tries to get us to believe that we would be better off at another table. “Look over there the grass is greener where that table is. I bet you could find something new over there. I bet the food and water are better over there. Maybe if you just cut a corner or two you’ll get the promotion like John did. Maybe if you just got a new wife, you know one like Mark has, or just ditch the wife idea altogether, maybe then things would be different for you. Look at the post that Sandra made about her family and their vacation - looks like they have it all together. Look at how great the fruit looks on this tree. Go ahead and eat it. It will solve all your problems.” The enemy is at your table.
The enemy would love to have you table-hopping from table to table. He would love to get you wrapped up in these temporary fixes that the other tables have to offer. But the truth is table-hopping won’t solve any problems. Table hopping only makes it worse. The enemy wants you hopping around so you aren’t focused on the sole table that will help you - the table with the Good Shepherd at it.
Lie #2 - The Lie That You’re Doomed
The enemy would love for you just to throw in the towel and quit. “You can’t handle another season like you just did. You won’t make it. You just can’t do it. You aren’t strong enough.” The enemy is at your table.
Once again, it’s about focus for the enemy. If he can get you to focus anywhere or on anything, other than the Good Shepherd, he has you where he wants you. He knows that the only place our help comes from is the Good Shepherd (Psalm 121:1-2). This is why he works so hard to get a seat at the table. He wants a seat at the table so he can pry us from the table. He wants us up wandering around so our focus is on everything else but the Good Shepherd. The enemy wants us to stay lost in the valley that the Good Shepherd is bringing us through. We are not doomed! Our Good Shepherd has a rod and staff!
Lie #3 - The Lie of Worthlessness
This is a big lie. This is a tough one. But the enemy loves to use it. He loves to tell us things that are not true. “Hey, you know you are just going to mess up again. I don’t even know why you go to church. God doesn’t love a mess like you. You will never be enough for God. You should be ashamed of what you did. You should feel guilty. You are just a big mess. You can’t change.” The enemy is at your table.
This is a hard valley to get through because the enemy is just screaming this stuff in your head. But this is how the enemy lies to us. He screams at us things that aren’t true until we believe they are. While the Good Shepherd is sitting at the same table telling us who we are. His. We are His (Psalm 100:3). Because we are His, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). The Good Shepherd doesn’t want to condemn us, the Good Shepherd wants us. Condemnation is from the enemy. Compassion is from the Good Shepherd.
Lie #4 - The Lie of Me Against the World
The enemy loves for you to feel like you are all alone or that everyone is out to get you. When we fall deep into this lie, we start thinking that everyone just hates us. Your friend, your neighbors, your coworkers, your kids, your parents, people at church, and even the waiter at the restaurant. The enemy loves to tell us all these kinds of things. “Look over there at those coworkers they are talking about you. They are trying to get you in trouble. I bet you noticed that they didn’t even say ‘good morning’ to you when you came in. Look at what your so-called friend posted on Facebook. They went out without you. They didn’t even try to invite you. I bet they leave you out on purpose. When you were at church this morning the pastor didn’t even say ‘hi’ to you or return your wave. He must not like you. Oh and by the way where is God in all of this. I bet he doesn’t like you either.”
The truth is there are people that you come across in life that don’t like you or that even possibly hate you. But not everyone. The enemy just wants you to think that it’s everyone so you feel alienated and alone. But it’s all a bunch of lies. Lying is what the enemy is good at doing. Here is some more truth... God is for you (Romans 8:31). The Good Shepherd is for you and wants what is best for you. The blessings of being at the table with Him overflow your cup (Psalm 23:5). The Good Shepherd wants your life to overflow and for you to have life abundantly (John 10:10, NKJV). Everyone is not against you, don’t give the enemy a chance to sit at the table.
Lie #5 - The Lie That There’s No Way Out
The enemy loves to use this as well. He loves to make us feel trapped. He loves to make us feel like every turn is blocked. He loves to make us feel like we have no chance. “You are never going to get out of this one. You can’t you’re in too deep. You can’t get out of it. You are just going to end up failing. You should just quit. You should just give it up.”
If we get too deep into this lie we can feel absolutely surrounded. But the truth is we are surrounded. But not by what you think. We might be surrounded by enemies as Psalm 23:5 says. But verse 4 tells us who surrounds them - the Good Shepherd.
A good example of this is seen in the story of Gideon [2]. Gideon gathered a bunch of men to go into battle with the Midianites. But God told him there were too many. God had Gideon narrow down his army for the battle to just 300 men. When the time was right, the 300 men broke their clay pots, shouted, and stood in the field. The Midianites thought they were surrounded and God caused them to panic and fight each other.
I would like to tell you that the Midianites thought they were surrounded by 300 people. But the presence of God surrounded those 300 people in Gideon’s army. So while the army of 300 surrounded the Midianites as best as they could, God surrounded the army of 300. God helped them win that battle. God fought it for them [3].
This same God that fought this battle for Gideon is the same God that fights battles for us. The Good Shepherd that has a rod and staff. The Good Shepherd that goes through the valleys with us. The enemy is a liar and has been from the very beginning (John 8:44, NLT). All the enemy knows how to do is lie.
Do you want to know the truth among all these lies? The Good Shepherd has everything surrounded. The Good Shepherd is for us. The Good Shepherd will fight for us and with us. The Good Shepherd is always there with us in the valleys. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep. If we stay at the table with the Good Shepherd, everyone and all things that surround us are surrounded by the Good Shepherd. This is the blessing being at the table with the Good Shepherd has to offer.
Don’t let the enemy take that away from you. He’s got no business at your table with the Good Shepherd. The truth is because we are at the table with the Good Shepherd, we can tell the enemy “You’re surrounded! Get lost!”
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**This series is based on the book Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table” by Louie Giglio. The thoughts and ideas in this post come from the book, but are put into my own words and are not directly quoted. All direct quotes from the book will be noted as such and identified. You can pick up a copy of the book wherever you buy your books.
[1] The 5 lies listed in this post are quoted from the book mentioned in the above paragraph. The paragraphs that follow each lie are my own words unless otherwise noted.
[2] Judges 7
[3] Judges 7:22, NLT
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