My phone visit with a dear friend gave me cause for thought this week. She had been reading a book and was recommending it to me. I think I am going to have to go in search of this book. The title of the book was “Don’t let Satan have a seat at your table”. I like to have family around my tables; I’m overjoyed when they come to visit for holidays and any other time. We are happy when we can share with them and others. Many years ago, my husband found a couple of people along the road needing help. He realized they needed a place to stay as they were waiting for help to arrive. He was able to invite them to stay overnight at our home and invite them to our table for a meal. They were extremely grateful for our home and our table. Society has changed and today he might be more hesitant to invite a stranger to have a seat at our table but back then we were happy to be able to share with them. I spent some time looking at information about seats at the table and was led to some of the following ideas.
I admit that even when I don’t intend to invite him in, Satan comes to visit and spends time with me as an uninvited no friend visitor. The theme of the book that was recommended to me seems to be that God desires to dine with us, to hang out with us, to spend time with us and get to fully know us. Do I value God’s time and His attention? Or do I minimize His role and even allow Satan to sneak up to the table in my home? I need and want to remember, it is a table for two, not three. I often think that there are some who call Satan their friend. Their actions seem to say that perhaps they have hung out together and have been influenced by being in close association. I feel they have invited Satan to have a seat at their table. Sometimes we have invisible visitors in our homes. Is Satan an invisible stranger in your home? Or do you recognize him? The uninvited guest, Satan, wants to gain access to your mind so he can destroy you. He wants to get inside your head so harmful thoughts can be planted within you. Those thoughts will grow unchecked and spill out into actions. . . . The devil is vicious and cruel, and he’s always prowling around ‘like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). That someone is sometimes me. It is you and Jesus at the table of grace, and Satan is not invited. He will invite himself but resist him. He will appear as an angel of light to help you, but he is not there to help, only to punish and bring pain. One of the first things he will do is question what God has clearly said to you, which is the truth. In Genesis 3:1 he asks Eve, “Has God indeed said?”
The phrase “Don’t invite Satan to have a seat” is a metaphor that was made popular by Louie Giglio. He is not a familiar author to me, but his book is said to be advising against entertaining negative, fearful, or destructive thoughts. Based on Psalm 23:5, it emphasizes that God prepares a place of peace for you, but you must actively prevent the enemy from influencing your mind. In trying to learn more about this book, I learned that some think the table in Psalms 23 could represent your mind, life, and focus. It is a
place for communion with God, not for fear or insecurity. But—Satan, our acknowledged enemy seeks to “sit at the table, my table” by feeding me lies, anxieties, shame, and temptation to steal my peace. He does not come to my table because I invited him on purpose. I may have held the door open too long and he assumed it was an invitation. It wasn’t!
In Psalm 23, David wrote that God has “prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” This table is set for two. Only two! The enemy, the devil, is not intended to join me or you there. Yet he grabs every opportunity to lie his way into our minds and claim control over our lives. He can cause my mind to get out of control with thoughts that are unproductive, destructive, and harmful. They are the kind of thoughts that can keep me awake at night. It is my responsibility to manage whose voices are allowed at that table, my table! Our Good Shepherd Jesus invites me to linger extra long at this table and find nourishment, rest, and deep closeness and friendship with the King of the Universe. It’s time to let Jesus win the battle for my mind. But if I’m not careful, the enemy will pull up a chair at my table, and I’ll start reflecting his attitude to everyone instead of the Lord’s attitude. Instead of feeling more secure, I’ll grow more paranoid. Instead of increasing in confidence, we can become crippled by fear. We too often subtly and easily allow Satan to hang around in our thoughts. Too often we do NOT take the lead to push him out of our minds. Too often we are too passive and allow his deception to spin us out of control. Resist the lies and replace them with the truth.
Everyone can have the authority, through faith, to take control and stop the “conversation with a killer” and refuse to let the negative thoughts Satan is impressing on us to dominate our minds. We have the power and authority to resist the enemy in Jesus’ name and to refuse to let him shape your story and thoughts. An explanation of the book said that it is about how my Shepherd prepares a table. Instead of focusing on the enemy’s presence at the table prepared by the shepherd, focus on God’s protection just as the shepherd protects the sheep, which is available even in all my difficult circumstances (Psalm 23:5).
If I don’t have an extra table chair available, then that leaves no room for Satan to assume he has an invitation to come sit. How can I show him there is no place for him at my kitchen table? I will for sure want to make sure there are no extra seats available. To Remove the seat, I must first need to recognize his Lie and identify that all my destructive thoughts are lies, not truths. They come from him. Then I need to replace them with Truth by countering his lies with Scripture and God’s promises. And next, practice Vigilance by actively managing my thoughts and emotions, get rid of any thoughts that do not match up with God’s peace that He has promised to give me.
I learned the message from the book seems to be encouraging letting Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lead your mind to find rest and security, rather than giving space to negativity. God prepares a “table for two”, intended for me and for Him, until the “enemy” (Satan) often tries to pull up an extra chair by planting destructive thoughts in my mind. This current weekend is called Valentine’s Day. Often couples want to spend time together having a meal at a place special to them that includes a beautiful table for
two. There is a special menu and special drinks, maybe music that is meaningful to them. This cozy romantic table for two is like an intimate space for me and the Good Shepherd; there is no invitation for a third party to interfere with my peace.
Our mind is a battlefield, so be on guard for your thoughts. Recognize that negative thoughts—like fear, worry, insecurity, shame—are often the enemy trying to take a seat at your table. Instead of letting negative ideas run wild, capture and identify them, challenge them with truth, and replace them with God’s promises. Staying calm [at rest] and refusing to rush or panic is a weapon and a way to resist the enemy’s lies and declare that God is enough. Actively reject, cancel the “not enough” song and other lies that lead to the circles of destructive thinking.
If I intentionally guard the guest list for my party and focus on the Shepherd’s voice, I can find security and victory even in challenging times. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” emphasizes that while the enemy may be out prowling around, I get to decide who gets to come in and sit at my table. Your mind is a battlefield where the enemy seeks to plant lies, anxiety, and fear to erode your confidence in God. What lies (anxiety, fear, unworthiness) have I allowed to be served at my table today? God prepares a table for two, me and Him, filled with peace and purpose, not a seat anywhere for the enemy. When the enemy sits at your table, he lies and says that you are alone, forgotten, or that God is holding out on you. In the ancient times the table God prepares is intended for only two: you and the Good Shepherd and to eat at someone’s table was to enter into a covenant of protection and intimacy. While God allows the “enemy” (Satan, fear, or anxiety) to be present in the room, He never intended for that enemy to pull up a chair and join the conversation.
Trying to continue this picture of my kitchen table, thoughts are the “feast” meals you consume daily. When you dwell on lies—like “I’m not enough” or “God has forgotten me”—you are essentially serving the enemy an invitation to sit down and influence your life. The enemy cannot sit at my table unless I pull out the chair for him. He tries to get a seat through subtle whispers of doubt, comparison, and bitterness. Instead of looking at the enemy “standing in the corner or looking in through the window” of your life, focus entirely on the Shepherd. Locking eyes with Jesus through worship makes the enemy’s presence irrelevant. Every thought that enters your mind is a “knock at the door.” You have the authority in Christ to refuse entry to any thought that doesn’t line-up with God’s truth (2 Corinthians 10:5). Oh how I want to keep the door shut!
What negative thoughts have I been “feeding” lately? Am I spending more time looking at my “enemies”—my problems—than the Shepherd who is sitting right across from me? Which chair do I need to throw out the window today by claiming a specific promise from Scripture? Lord, I choose to sit with You.
I refuse to give the enemy a seat, and I declare that my mind is under Your peace. Amen.