At the table with lies or truth
Deutsch
English I have brought you one of the most famous prayers. It’s a prayer I personally pray when I’m panicking.
Have you ever prayed Psalm 23 for yourself?
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalms 23 (ESV)
But what we want to focus on today is just verse 5: You prepare a table before me in the face of my enemies.
A table in the face of my enemies? This is not a dream place, nor is it a wonderful atmosphere. That seems like a totally insane picture. (but is the reality) We’d rather see our enemies go away than linger and feast in their presence, right? I don’t like to sit at a table in the face of my problems, my crises and challenges. If all negative circumstances are removed and calm returns okay, but not like this.
But apparently we experience it in the midst of our everyday life and hear God say:
„I’ll leave you there, but I’ll set a table for you where you are so you can learn that in the midst of this struggle, I’m the one making impossible things possible.“
But not only does Jesus prepare a table for me, he also sits down next to it. And if we’re clever, we’ll sit down too, because he invites us. Jesus doesn’t really worry about such situations – in the face of chaos, Jesus is very good at calming down.
For God, however, this invitation is very important. It’s not just about providing for us in our challenges. This invitation to come to him is intended to show us the character of God. He is my shepherd, he loves me, he equips me, he does not leave me alone, he sees me:
God wants you to remember his goodness, his character, right in the middle of this phase. When we sit at this table with God, however, we don’t just begin to look at His character. This community changes our character. I start concentrating more on him, become calmer, braver, more secure. So we better take our time and enjoy this invitation, this fellowship?
Unfortunately, at this table we are often not alone with God. We are joined by someone who was not invited. Satan himself grabs a chair and sits at the table. He sneaks up, all sophisticated and hypocritical, and starts sowing doubts about everything. His plan isn’t to take your food away. His plan is to cast doubt on your relationship with God, distort your image of God, and destroy fellowship.
“The devil didn’t come to Eve with a Kalashnikov. His weapon was an idea. More specifically, a lie.” Because, as the Bible said, the devil is the father of lies. John 8:44-45: The devil’s method is lying, his strategy is deceit and that’s exactly what he sits down with you at the table. He feeds you lies and thus steals your attention, you automatically become more preoccupied with the lies in your head than with the truths.
Suddenly there they are, these thoughts in your head:
- You have to fight your own battles
- It’s impossible, you can’t get out of it
- Your past ruined your life and nothing will change that
- You’re not good enough, you can’t do it, you’re not worth it
It would be so easy if the devil’s lies were just plain untruths, but they aren’t. They have an emotional value and are linked to your feelings. They pick you up with your fears or with your wishes. The sad thing is that not only do we hear the lies, we live them, they stick like little barbs.
The devil wants to turn your trust in God into distrust and lies. As with Adam and Eve. “The devil is out for total destruction. He wants to enjoy watching the world burn. Wherever he finds life he seeks to erase it. He defaces beauty. He perverts love. He breaks unity into small pieces.”
Everything in which God sees gold, the devil wants to destroy. He wants to see you lying on the ground.
It is important to know one’s enemy, but as I learn about the devil and become aware of his strategy, I must always be aware of the greatness of God. If not, I will lose myself in my feelings and in my perception.
„I am struck by the greatness of my problems or my enemy whenever I have lost sight of the greatness of my God.“ B.J.
Remember the devil was created by God. The devil is not God’s opponent on an equal footing, but a created being that has a beginning and will one day have an end.
But if he’s already sitting at your table and trying to unsettle you, making you doubt and you realize that your trust in God is beginning to crumble, is there any way out? Sure, of course. Because God knows exactly how the enemy works and has given us wonderful tools to deal with it.
I would like to highlight 2 remedies.
The first means is in Ephesians 6 – the armor of God:
Truth is the first part of the armor – the belt of truth: The belt holds the upper and lower garments together, the belt = basic structure so that everything holds – truth is the foundation for our spiritual fight and the sword was fastened to the belt. It is about the truth about God, about ourselves and about our neighbor.
Through the lies we often build up our own world of thoughts, our own „truth“, which must be destroyed by God’s truth. In fact, much of the NT was written specifically to combat false teachings/ideas. It’s always about destroying lies and using truth. This piece of armor must be used daily. Not just every now and then.
I said earlier that the sword was fastened to the belt. The sword represents the Word of God. The belt and the sword are connected to each other. You can only use one if you use the other. The pure truth is in the Word of God. If you need truth, take the Word of God.
“The purpose of reading the Bible is not to stuff our brains with information, but to mold and equip our souls. It’s about thinking like this, filling our brains with God’s thoughts so that they shape our personality.”
The bottom line is that we don’t just think about the Bible, but let the Bible shape our thinking.
It’s also not about reading a lot, but absorbing what the Spirit is prompting you to do. Suck it up. And you will know the truth and it will set you free John 8:32
When Jesus says the truth will set you free, he is implying that we are captives to lies or false ideas. But don’t focus on fighting the lies, instead cling to the truth. This is what Jesus did when he was tempted by the devil with lies and false ideas. He clung to the truth. Don’t try to drive the lies out of your head, but feed your head with truths.
Jesus says: I am the way, the truth and the life John 14:6 – have fellowship with the truth. There is no truth without relationship, so it is important that you take your time around this table, for that is where you have fellowship with the truth. Truth is not a construct. Truth is a person and only through fellowship with them can truth fill you.
The 2nd means to drive the enemy from our table is our heavenly authority:
Say to the enemy: „Get up, you have no business being here, your lies no longer have power over my thoughts.“
We use this tool far too seldom. Jesus gave and gives his disciples authority to destroy the works of the devil. Are you aware of that? Become aware of the authority that is given to you.
Prophetic action:
If you feel like you’re believing too many lies, I ask that you come forward and take something from this table as a token of your reconciliation with the truth.
If you feel you are lacking in any way (courage, healing, forgiveness) and need something, come and help yourself at this table as a sign that you are being taken care of.
This is a prophetic act – which the Bible is full of:
Take hold of what is here on the table as a sign that you are also taking hold of something in the heavenly world.
Author: Melanie Kundt
Pictures: https://pixabay.com
