part 3 of “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table”
Have you ever been at a restaurant or a sporting event and a person that you know is there too? They see you from a distance, but you don’t see them until they have pulled up a seat at your table or taken the empty seat next to you in the row. It doesn’t take very long at all for someone to swipe a seat - especially when you don’t see it coming.
This is the tactic of the enemies that surround the table the Good Shepherd has prepared for you (Psalm 23:5a). We see this in 1 Peter 5:8….
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8 NLT
The verse compares the enemy to a lion prowling around. So when we think about it like that, he’s quiet and sneaky. He’s waiting in the tall grass. He watching you, his prey, waiting to pounce when you least expect it. When he finally pounces it doesn’t take long for him to get a seat at the table. Then all of sudden he’s there eating your food and drinking your water. The enemy has sat down at your table.
In Genesis 3, we see the enemy’s swift motion when he has a conversation with Eve. Genesis 3 starts of by telling us the enemy is crafty. This wasn’t his first time in the Garden with them. He’s crafty and sneaky and lurking around seeking out people to pounce on. He had been watching Adam and Eve. Then when he finally saw his moment, he pounced. He planted a seed out of doubt, a lie, about the goodness of God. He told her that God was lying and he had secrets. The enemy had pulled up a seat at the table. The conversation wasn’t even that long. He said two sentences. That was all it took and he had a seat at the table with Eve and God. The enemy doesn’t announce himself to her. He just started a conversation with her and weaseled his way into a seat at the table. He doesn’t ask to sit down, he just takes the seat.
The enemy does the same to us as well. He sneaks up and starts whispering lies in our ear. Before we know it, he has taken a seat at our table. He’s eating the food and drinking the water. While he’s doing all that, he continues to lie. He continues the conversation around things that he would rather we focus on instead of the King who is sitting there too.
The enemy knows this truth… he can’t win if he doesn’t have your focus. If our focus remains on Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we know we have the authority through Jesus to tell the enemy to get lost. We are at the table with the Good Shepherd who will protect and comfort us. We are blessed all the days of our life at the table with the Good Shepherd. We have life to the full at the table with the Good Shepherd. This is what John 10:10 says…
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” - John 10:10 NIV
However, if we let the enemy get our focus. If let him have a seat at the table. If we let him gain control of our minds, we are letting him steal what the table provides for us. The only purpose the enemy has, his only goal, is to destroy us. The enemy knows he can’t beat the Good Shepherd, so he goes after the sheep. He goes after us. He wants to steal any joy, peace, or comfort the Good Shepherd has provided. He wants to get a seat at the table so he can tell his lies and drown out the truth. He wants us to focus on him and not where our help comes from [1].
“How do you know if the Enemy is already sitting at your table? By the predominant, relentless fiery arrows that are flying…” [2]. But the good news is, we don’t have to listen to these words or “fiery arrows”. We don’t have to let the enemy influence our thoughts. We don’t have to entertain the enemy’s thoughts. We have the power through Jesus - the One sitting at the table with us - to tell the enemy to get lost and he’s not welcome to sit down at our table. We don’t even have to let him sit in the first place!
Don’t let the enemy lie, steal, and weasel his way into a seat at your table with the Good Shepherd. It’s your table and you have a say on who has a seat. Stay alert and keep focused on the Good Shepherd.
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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] Psalm 121:1-2
[2] Louie Giglio, Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table, page 48
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