part 1 of “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table”
Imagine that you are walking into a restaurant and you tell the host “yes, we’d like a table for 2 please.” The host walks you through the restaurant past all of the other dining guests to a table for 2 in the middle of the restaurant. The table is prepared for you. On the table are water, plates, silverware, napkins, glasses for water, and a beautiful floral arrangement in the center. The host pulls out your chair inviting you to take a seat. He puts some bread on the table for you to enjoy while waiting for your waiter. He hands you the menus and tells you that a waiter will be with you soon.
As you are sitting there enjoying the bread you look around and you notice some people are starting to stare at you. You begin to notice it more and more. You start to wonder if there is something in your hair, on your clothes, or makeup is smudged. You turn your attention back to your table and a second later someone pulls up a chair and takes a seat. Then another. And another. Before you know it the table has gotten crowded and you can’t even hear or barely see your dinner companion. The enemy has just pulled up and sat at your table.
Throughout this series, we are going to be referring to Psalm 23 from time to time. Psalm 23 may be a familiar passage to us, but I hope this series shines a new light on the passage and we see some new truth in the words. But for this post, I want to start toward the end and look at one verse - actually half of a verse - that will help us lay the foundation for the next possible 10 weeks.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies… - Psalms 23:5a NIV
David is talking about a special table. A table for 2. A table that has all we can imagine on it. All of our favorite foods, drinks, sweets, and snacks are all on this table. The water in the pitcher is so refreshing and it’s unlike anything you have ever tasted. The bread is soft and warm. The butter just melts. The steak is cooked to perfection just the way you like it. The cheesecake is strawberry and is simply wonderful. The best part is… this table is just for you and the King of Kings. A lunch banquet for just you and God. What would be on your table - think about it?
But as the verse says there is an unwanted guest or guests that want to pull up a chair at your table during your luncheon with God. The enemy wants a seat at your table. The Bible says:
“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 enemy wants a seat at the table. The enemy wants to take your focus off of God, who is at the table with you and who prepared the table, and put focus on him so he can tell you lies. This is exactly what the Devil did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Devil slithered right up to her table and told her that God was lying to her and keeping stuff from her. So she took a bite of the forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam (Genesis 3). This changed the world forever. But this was only the first attack of the enemy and all he did was plant a little seed of doubt. The enemy continues to chase us around and around and around trying to weasel his way into a seat at our table. He does this by planting seeds of lies in our mind. Seeds of guilt, shame, anxiety, insecurity, fear, rage, and stress. Then he waits. He waits because his sole purpose is to destroy us.
But we have the authority to say who can sit at our table. We don’t have to let the enemy get a seat. We don’t have to let him into our mind spreading those lies. We are sitting at the table with God Almighty. The Good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). The One who carries and rod and staff (Psalm 23:4). The One who will fight for us (Exodus 14:14) and protect us. This is Who is at the table with us. If we remain focused on Him, the One where our help comes from [1], the enemy will have a hard time getting a seat at your table.
——————
**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] Hebrews 12:2 and Psalm 121:2
Comments