Are you giving him a seat at your table?

Psalm 23:4-5 KJV - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23 is a very well-known Psalm. It is a beautiful Psalm that depicts Christ as our Shepherd, lovingly keeping watch over us and providing for us. But did you ever notice something interesting in verse 5?

We are told that God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. That’s right. In view of them. Not away from. Not hidden, but in plain sight.

So, as we sit at the table prepared for us, we are surrounded by our enemies. They are not seated at our table, but they have a view of our table.

I recently wrote a post entitled ‘Even though, I will’. https://learnliveloveshare.blogspot.com/search?q=even+though

In it I talked about Habakkuk and his determination to give praise to God even though he faced difficult circumstances.

In this verse in Psalms, we find this theme once again. Even though I am surrounded by my enemies, I will choose to sit down. The Psalmist chose to sit down at the table prepared for him by the Good Shepherd, and take the time to fellowship with him, even though his enemies were in view.

Do you realise that the enemy, our greatest foe, the Devil, wants a seat at your table? And the way you invite him to your table is through your thoughts.

Our thoughts determine our actions. Proverbs 23:7a For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

We know that the Devil is out to get us. He will do whatever it takes to drag us down and take our focus off Christ. He hates God. He wants to bury the purpose that God has put inside of us. He wants to steal our joy, our self-worth, our confidence and hope. He wants to ruin our relationships and our reputations.

1 Peter 5:8 KJV - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

In Psalm 23 we are encouraged to learn that Christ, as the Good Shepherd, leads us and guides us, he gives us nourishment, he protects us, he is with us, he gives us rest, his goodness and mercy is with us continually and he desires fellowship with us around the table he has prepared.

But there is an enemy. We can’t stop the Devil from prowling around our table, but we do have a choice whether to allow him to sit down.

He never comes in loudly, announcing his presence and intentions. No, he comes in a side door. He is subtle, and crafty and cunning.

He slowly and quietly pulls up a chair, being careful to make no noise. He leans in, he appears to be helpful (Genesis 3:1-5). He may even quote scripture (out of context, of course). He appears empathetic. He offers something good. He appeals to our basic human needs.

The best way that the Devil knows to do this is by planting thoughts in your mind. He knows that all too often, these thoughts will turn into actions and then the spiral begins.

A temptation or thought enters our mind, one that didn’t come from God. We begin to dwell on it and before we know it, it has taken over and we begin spiralling down into the dark abyss.

The truths we know about God begin to fade from view and are replaced by lies.

The enemy is invited to our table when we entertain the lies he is feeding us.

Maybe it’s the lie of comparison – comparing ourselves with others, resulting in discontentment.

Or the lie that you’re doomed – you’re never going to make it through…..(fill in the blank)

Or the lie of worthlessness – you’ll never be good enough.

Or the lie that everyone is against you and no one cares about you.

Or the lie that there is no way out.

As we listen to the Devil’s lies and fail to remember God’s truth, he casually reaches out a hand and begins to eat our lunch.

We have to STOP BELIEVING THE LIES! (read more on this here:https://learnliveloveshare.blogspot.com/search?q=kill+the+lies 

We have to identify the lie. The reality is that harmful thoughts come from the enemy. He uses our desires against us.

James understood something of this and sent us a warning.

James 1:13-15 KJV - 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

We are lured by our own desires. The Devil knows where to touch us to make us react. He knows the weak spots to hone in on.

I personally fight a daily battle with my thoughts. Having experienced a season of debilitating depression and anxiety, I am constantly on high alert as to where my thoughts are taking me.

Just yesterday, as I was doing my deliveries after a long and hard couple of weeks, tired emotionally and physically, the Devil put a thought in my head that I knew was not from God.

And the reason I knew it wasn’t from God was because of what I know of God’s character. The more I am in his Word, the more I learn of him and the more I know his voice when he speaks. I recognize when a voice speaks that is not his and is foreign to me.

And the battle began in earnest.

I began to speak truth over myself. I reminded myself of God’s goodness to me and the new identity he gave me when I became a chosen, loved, forgiven Child of God.

I began to list all the things I had to be thankful for. I recalled verses of Scripture that would pierce the Devil and send him back into his corner.  (Ephesians 6:17). Even the Lord Jesus himself used the Words of Life to fight the Devil when he was tempted. (Matthew 4)

What I was doing was making the choice to refuse him a seat at my table.

I refused to let him pull up a chair and stay a while. Instead, I chose sweet fellowship with my Father and to delight in the delicacies he had placed there. Things like grace, mercy, love, compassion, closeness and intimacy with him.

Can I remind you of the importance of being careful who you invite to your table? Misery loves company, and you will find that there will be people that come into your life that you have to limit your exposure to. You know who I mean. These are the people that drag you down. Emotionally and spiritually. Maybe they don’t mean to, but they have a spirit of discontent and bitterness, and their presence will influence you and your thoughts.

We need to show love and compassion and help those in need, but we also need to be careful that we don’t get pulled down to their level. Instead, we need to speak words of truth over them and be an encouragement, continually bringing to their mind the Words of Life.

We have to realise that we are in a spiritual battle every day. It’s not a flesh and blood battle we face, but a spiritual one. We have a battle to fight in our minds every day. This is where the battle is the hottest and the strongest and the hardest. The Devil knows this, and this is why he works so hard warring against you when you choose to think right.

Ask yourself, “Does this thought come from God? Does it line up with Scripture?” (Philippians 4:8). If it doesn’t, then go to war! Take the thought captive and throw it out.

Remember, you are not fighting alone. God is faithful and he is present.

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV - 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

He is always ready to come to our rescue when we call out. Whether it’s reminding us of a promise in the Bible when we’re struggling with thoughts that send us spiralling, or whether it’s the hand of a friend reaching out in love, he knows what we need, when we need it, and if we keep our eyes on him, he will pull us up, pick up our toppled chair, seat us once again at his table and we can feast with him, surrounded by our enemies, but not overcome by them.

“The battle isn’t won because the pressure lifts or the circumstances change. The battle is won because of who sits at the table with us when we are surrounded.”

Jesus has already won the battle over Satan. He has been defeated. His fate is sealed. We are joined with Christ through our new identity, and we can refuse the enemy a seat at our table simply because of who we have sitting beside us. Christ. Our Good Shepherd. Our protector and warrior who fights for us and with us.

The table is a table for two. Christ and you. There is no room for the enemy. He is not invited, and he is not welcome. Don’t give him a seat at your table!

2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV - Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

You have a choice!