Most of us find ourselves battling our

at least occasionally, and many of us have found that at times our thoughts have taken us captive, spinning us out of control, to the point where we lack peace.

Jesus: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

Jesus is not just saying, “I understand,” but “I understand, and I can

!”

The text from his friend helped Giglio to realize a couple of things:

1. We’ve allowed the enemy –

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   – access to our lives, our conversations, our attitudes, our emotions, the way we interact with other people, and the way we look at situations and life.
   

2. We’ve allowed the enemy into our

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   , so that, in essence, we often find ourselves having a conversation with a
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   at the table of our lives, and we don’t even realize it!
   

Jesus: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.…” —John 10:10 (ESV)
Jesus: “… [The devil] was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” —John 8:44 (NLT)

Since the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we’ve proven time and time again that Satan is capable of deceiving us to get us to turn

from God.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. —1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 6:11-12 (NLT)

We can’t keep the devil from prowling around us, but we can keep him from taking a

at our table, from speaking his lies and deceptions into our lives.

A significant part of “God’s armor” is

, the Word of God, for it exposes the devil’s lies with the truth and offers us God’s path to abundant living.

Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty, I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my savior. —Habakkuk 3:17-18 (TEV)

Habakkuk says: “Even though” these things happen, things that are hard and tough and painful, yet “I will” stay joyful and trust my

who has saved me.

“Even though/I will” faith makes the choice to stay the course, and this is the kind of faith that can

the direction of your life.

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. —Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)

Psalm 23 shows us a

God, a Shepherd who knows us and our needs, who cares deeply for His sheep and will protect them against any attack.

As we travel through the Bible and reach the New Testament, we see this Shepherd most clearly in the person of

.

Jesus: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” —John 10:11 (ESV)

In the first 21 verses of John 10, Jesus gives us a clearer

of what “the good shepherd” looks like in our lives.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. —Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

We’re all

by something, whether we realize it or not.

… you are a slave to whatever controls you. —2 Peter 2:19 (NLT)

David, the author of the 23rd Psalm, said, “I shall not want,” I’m not looking for something

to fill my life and purpose.

This Psalm promises everything it says and more to those of us who choose to make

our shepherd.

In vs. 4, we see a familiar phrase – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…;” – because my good shepherd is “with me” in the midst of whatever is raining down on me: “Even though…, I will…”

.

Walking through the “valley of the shadow of death” and realizing and claiming that Jesus promises us peace and victory and freedom in the midst of this is how we

an “even though/I will” faith.

Verse 5 says God’s prepared “a table before me in the

of my enemies.”

Whatever we’re battling, whether it’s a battle going on around us or inside us, God has set His table for us right in the

of it all!

What makes this image of our enemies around us so unique and powerful is that it doesn’t

what’s going on in your life, it doesn’t try to

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you from it; instead, it shows you how to find God’s peace in the

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of it all.

… the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God…. —1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV)
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!… For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. —Romans 11:33, 36 (ESV)

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Next Week – The Tactics of the Enemy