Are you noticing a theme on the blog lately? We must equip ourselves to fight and win spiritual battles in our communities, workplaces, and homes.
Giglio writes this study to help us prepare and defeat the strongholds of the Enemy. Interestingly he flips the script just a bit. He explains his take on the following from Psalm 23….
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Why in the world would God prepare a table in the presence of our enemies? Well, Giglio explains that God loves our enemies too. And God wants to them to see what He is about to do in your life. Your enemy has you surrounded. But while they are surrounding you, He is surrounding them(reference 2 Kings 6: 17-2).
According to LG, there are three reasons He prepares a table in the presence of your enemies. FIrst, He wants us to know that He is enough. Second, He wants our enemies to see that God is enough. Third, he wants our cup to overflow so that we have plenty of God’s goodness to share with others. Giglio states…
But that’s not how Psalm 23:5 was written. God has prepared a table right in the middle of the battle. That table is laden with the richest of fare—and it’s all good food for us to eat—yet that table is set right in the midst of the chemo ward. God has set out the silverware, and He’s invited us to come and dine with Him—yet that table is right in the middle of our family being pulled apart. That table is right in the middle of job stress. It’s smack-dab in the middle of relational tension. It’s directly at the center of the hardships and arguments, the misunderstandings and persecutions, the depression and the death. Whatever we are battling, internally or externally, the table is right there in the middle of the trouble, at the epicenter of conflict.
How many times in the Bible have we seen the Enemy look to have overwhelming numbers? In many cases, it appeared the Israelites didn’t even hear the gun go off. Yet, their God in heaven was far, far ahead of the plans of their enemies!
As the Israelites arrived at the borders of the Promised Land within a few years of leaving Egyp, God ordered Moses to send men into Canaan and get the lay of the land so to speak. They returned and had this to say. In Numbers 32: 31-33, it reads….
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”he Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
The perceived they were as grasshoppers to their enemies, and the Israelites perceived themselves the same way. The consequences of this fearful report had huge implications for the Israelites. After all that they had seen God do in Egypt, they refused to enter the promised land. God forgave them for their lack of faith, but of the people over twenty years old, only Joshua and Caleb would be allowed(from that generation) to cross the river Jordan into the Promised Land. For nearly forty more years, they would wander in the desert.
Oh, if they had only trusted that God would prepare a table in the presence of their enemies! They allowed the enemy and their apparent strength to cause fear and trepidation. We must learn from their lesson, and become like Joshua and Caleb who saw the goodness of the promised land. They remembered that the God who had parted the waters was fully capable of shielding them and leading them to victory.
I don’t know what battle you are facing right now. I have no doubt some of those battles are difficult. We must ask God to strengthen our faith as we face those circumstances. We must live with courage and boldness with the full knowledge that the power of the resurrected Christ lives inside of us – if we come to believe, follow, and repent.
And no matter how bad our circumstance or great our foes, God invites us to dine with Him right smack in the middle of the battle and in the presence of our enemies. He is fully capable of protecting us while at this meal, setting us on a straight path, and making a way for us. So, if you see your enemy encroaching. Then, let them come.
Important Note: I listened to the study which accompanies this title. It was narrated by Giglio. I didn’t realize I had not actually listened to the actual book. So, I went back and bought the book, and began working through it! This post contains information from both the study and the actual book, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table. To be perfectly clear, I am still working through the book though I have already worked through the entire study which accompanies it. However, the message was powerful enough that I thought it needed to be shared quickly.
The main theme from the book is to not let Satan have a seat at your table. Satan is capable of doing this quickly and almost without notice. We must protect ourselves with good counsel, Scripture, and most importantly, prayer. We must be obedient to his Word found in Scripture.
The God who called Lazarus from the grave is all you need….great, great song below.
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