Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: Win the Battle of Your Mindናሙና

The Battle for Your Mind

Here’s the truth. You were created in the image of God. You were called to greatness. You are a child of the King, and God wants to set you free from anything that is holding you back. It’s time you got serious about claiming victory in the battle for your mind. 

Take a moment to soberly and honestly examine if you’ve given the Devil a seat at your table. Jesus has prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies (see Psalm 23:5). The pressure of life is all around you, yet your almighty God has invited you to sit and dine. The dinner party belongs to you and God alone. Whenever you allow the Devil to sit, he begins to devour the abundant life meant for you, and you start heading down the pathway toward sin and death. 

Death, in this sense, is spiritual death—not eternal condemnation for believers, but the destruction of the close relationship you are meant to fully and deeply enjoy with God. Nothing can separate you from God’s love (see Romans 8:38–39), yet followers of Christ can still grow distant from God if they so choose. With sin in your life, you lose your peace, effectiveness, confidence, and cheerfulness. You certainly don’t live to your fullest God-given potential. Complicating matters, your own thoughts and feelings can combine with sin and temptation into a spiral, a harmful pattern, where the Enemy uses your own desires against you (see James 1:13–15).

We live on a battlefield. We’re stamped with the image of God and targeted by the Enemy. Our Enemy hates God and wants to destroy everything he can that bears God’s image. Be aware of this! He is going to try to start you down the road to destruction by putting a thought into your mind that’s contrary to God’s best for your life and letting it entice you and fester. 

Despite the Enemy’s malicious intent, don’t be fearful or paranoid. Remember, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NASB). Yet you can’t go through life with blinders on. You have a real Enemy. One of the biggest ways he works is through unchecked thoughts. That’s what needs to be stopped. 

You have victory in Christ. Because Jesus has already won the victory over sin, you have access to this victory too. Sin, temptation, and a poor thought life don’t need to hold you down. The power to live freely comes from your close association with Christ and His victory. The battle is won because of who walks with us through the dark valleys and who sits at the table with us when we’re surrounded by troubles. 

In Christ, you are a new creation. That’s what association with Jesus does in our lives. Victory begins by immersing yourself in this truth. You are no longer a slave to sin. God will provide a way out. You do not have to give the Enemy a seat at your table. If you are tempted to sin, God is faithful and through the Holy Spirit will provide a way out—even when you are surrounded by temptation. The best way to avoid sin is to focus on Christ, not on sin. 

As you live closely with Jesus, you’ll discover that you can trust God. You can look back on your life and see the times He kept you out of danger. Keep your eyes on Christ.

Respond

How has sin affected your relationship with God as a believer? 

How have you seen God give you victory over sin and temptation? 

What can you do to keep your eyes on Christ as you navigate away from sin?