Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at the Table

This semester I am teaching/facilitating an online course through Mid-Atlantic Christian University which is a great experience so far. I didn’t have to set it up or prepare it, just walk alongside the students, encourage them, grade assignments, etc. I didn’t know that God would be using it to teach me also.

One of the books assigned as reading is from Louis Giglio, and in it, fairly early in the book, he related a story of how for a period of time after launching Passion City Church, he experienced conflict, accusations, and difficulty. He texted a friend about all he was going through, basically venting everything out while looking for support, vindication, encouragement, etc. He waited for the response to come back, looking for something like… “I’ve got your back” or “God’s got this” or “You are right all along – good job.”

What he got back was not that, yet simple and very wise:

“Don’t give the enemy a seat at the table.”

That phrase resonated with Louie Giglio, thousands of readers of the book he wrote out of this experience and with me.

Don’t give the enemy a seat at the table is the name of the book. The subtitle: It’s Time to Win the Battle of your Mind.

It’s so true. We cannot control the temptations that come to us – whether it is negative thoughts, or paranoia or discouragement or lies, but we can control what we do with the temptations, the thoughts that want to move in and take control. We can control how we fight back and how we think.

I have thought a lot about that phrase this week – Don’t Give the Enemy A Seat at the Table – that’s something I do far too often – dwelling on things, overthinking, harboring doubts and fears. There is no freedom there. Freedom comes from recognizing the attacks of the evil one and responding with Truth – that we can take every thought captive and turn our thoughts to better things – Philippians 4:8. It is a choice.

Much of the battle we experience is the battle of the mind. Win there, and you will find victory. The enemy uses the same tactics he has always used because they work. We don’t want him to win in our lives.

When we allow our thoughts to be driven by the enemy, we give him a seat at our table. We don’t have to live like that. God has already won the battle – we just need to live in that victory.

I am learning right along with the students in my class.

If you are dealing with similar things, I recommend you give this book a try and don’t let the enemy have a seat at the table.

May you find victory in Christ today!