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

In the Presence of Our Enemies

God prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies (Psalm 23:5). Why do they get ringside seats at your table? Why not vanquish the foes? Change the circumstances? Consider the power of this table. You are sitting with the King, the God of the cosmos. You’re at the table with the wisest, kindest, most loving, most creative, most joy-filled, most interesting person in the universe. 

In the midst of the battles that are raging, He is near. The Good Shepherd is available and accessible. When you realize the magnitude of this, you see there is nothing in your life more valuable or rewarding than your full-on pursuit of knowing Him. Being completely transfixed on the Host who is sitting at your table with you prevents the Enemy from getting an opportunity to invade or attack. You stop focusing on the Enemy, and you fix your eyes on God. Sure, there is strategy in knowing the Enemy’s tactics, in learning how to keep the Enemy from sitting down. Yet there is even greater strategy in exchanging the defensive for the offensive. As we wholeheartedly focus on God and seek His face (Psalm 27:8, 13), great things happen. 

You have a choice in life: you can be a person who knows about God, or you can take up the invitation to truly and intimately know God Himself. How do you get to know this almighty God? Through the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ. The help of the Holy Spirit guides you into truth as you begin to discover His attributes. He’s a God of personhood, and that includes full will and full emotion. As you see God through His attributes, you begin to truly know God. 

Consider the levels of depth you can explore in knowing another person. When you first meet someone, you can have knowledge that is true and real, yet it’s certainly not everything there is to know about a person. When you are in close contact with someone, you get to know his or her heart. God invites you not to settle for surface knowledge. He invites you to a deep and personal knowledge of Him where you can explore His grace, His love, His mercy, His holiness, and His omnipotence. You can know how He never fails you. How He is full of wisdom, never changes, and is always everywhere, yet can love you individually. You can know as much about God as you have the appetite and desire to know. 

The choice to know God more fully is yours. Jesus made the way for us to come boldly into His presence. When we set our gaze on the Almighty, we change into the likeness of the One who has captivated our souls. And we reflect His glory. Our table is in the presence of our enemies so that God’s glory will be on display in someone like you and because God wants you to know that you’ll always have enough for every moment, every struggle. And God wants the enemies to watch you shine. Keep your mind on Christ. Period. There’s no way the Enemy will get a seat at your table.

Respond

How would you describe the depth of your relationship with God?

What can help you know God more fully? If you have never established a relationship with God through acceptance of His grace, what would it mean for you to take this step?

How does your relationship with God change you? How does it impact those who are watching you—both friend and foe?

Congratulations on completing this reading plan! We trust it has been helpful to your walk with Jesus. For a free download of Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table content, please go to: dontgivetheenemy.com.