Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat
Last week, I had one of those moments that catches you completely off guard. It immediately brought me face-to-face with a situation that has caused a lot of hurt and pain over the last couple of months.
In that moment, I had a choice.
Do I let myself get upset, replay everything in my mind, and allow all those emotions to take over? And honestly, I would have been justified in feeling hurt.
Or could I acknowledge that it hurt without letting it steal my joy?
Almost immediately, I thought:
“Not today, Satan. You are NOT getting my joy.”
And guess what?
He didn’t.
I didn’t spiral. I didn’t let my thoughts run wild. I didn’t allow that one moment to change my mood or steal the joy God had been putting in my heart.
But here’s the thing…
I can’t always say that I’ve been able to do that.
There have been more times than I want to admit when something like that has completely changed my day. I’ve replayed situations over and over, thought about all the what-ifs and whys, and allowed something I couldn’t control to consume my thoughts.
Getting to a place where I could recognize what was happening and choose joy has taken time.
I think that’s part of growing in our walk with Jesus.
When you know how the enemy operates, you’re less surprised by what he does.
The circumstances may change, but the tactics really don’t.
Fear. Lies. Distraction. Offense. Doubt.
He knows where the tender places are, and he would love nothing more than to get our eyes off what God is doing and onto what is hurting.
And sometimes those lies can sound pretty convincing.
A book that has really impacted my thought life is Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio. It’s all about the battle for your mind—learning to recognize when the enemy is influencing your thoughts and refusing to give those thoughts a place to stay.
Or, if you will, refusing to let them pitch a tent in your mind.
Because one thought can lead to another, and suddenly I’ve created an entire story in my head based on something that hasn’t even happened—or something that simply isn’t true.
That’s when I have to stop and ask myself:
Does this line up with Scripture and what I know to be true?
Not what I feel in that moment.
Not what I’m afraid might happen.
And for sure not what the enemy is whispering.
What does God say is true?
Our feelings are real and valid, but they are not always truth. The more we know God’s Word, the quicker we can recognize when something doesn’t line up with it.
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 10:5
I’m learning that I don’t have to entertain every thought that enters my mind.
I can take it captive. I can line it up with God’s truth. And I can decide whether it gets to stay.
The situation was still real. The hurt was still real. But this time, I could acknowledge that something hurt without giving it permission to steal my joy.
Because God is still working, and He gets the final say.
I have not mastered this, and it doesn’t mean the next hard thing won’t be harder.
It simply means I can look back and see that Jesus has been growing me.
And sometimes growth looks like realizing…
The thing that once would have ruined your whole day…didn’t this time.
Today, ask yourself:
What thoughts have you been giving a seat at your table?
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you recognize those thoughts, take them captive, and replace them with God’s truth.
-April Lemau