This is an excerpt from Louie Giglio’s book Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table.
It might seem logical for them to chuck their faith. We wouldn’t be surprised if they turned away from God in the midst of difficulty, or if they leaned toward their favorite addiction in an attempt to feel better. Unfortunately, that’s what too many people do when the going gets tough.
See, when life turns hard for us, we’re almost always tempted to welcome the Enemy at our table. But when we realize that Jesus invites us to follow Him even though life is hard, we discover the foundational truth for winning the battle for our minds.
This is the depth of faith we see throughout the Bible. Three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, worshipped God in an era when King Nebuchadnezzar had commanded everybody to worship only a huge, gold statue of himself. The goal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was to be obedient to God’s call on their lives. When the music played (the signal for everybody to fall down and worship the golden statue), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remained standing. Because of their righteous actions, they wound up being thrown into a raging fire. What was God thinking? Surely that made no sense. They didn’t do anything wrong. Shouldn’t they be rewarded for their righteous living? Wasn’t God for them and not against them?
The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t deflate. Instead, their faith inflated. Even on the edge of a fiery furnace, they were able to say to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). Rescued out of their circumstances or left to go through the fire—either way—they would stay true to God.
Or take a look at Paul and Silas. They found themselves in prison. Their crime? They set free a female slave from demonic oppression. They did the right thing. Even then, the citizens of the city of Philippi gathered in a furious mob and dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities. They were severely beaten and thrown in jail. Paul and Silas were trying to honor God. They’d been on a mission trip, and this is what they got? Nobody would have faulted them if they had abandoned the faith, or whined and complained, or turned to some sort of an addiction in an attempt to quell their pain. But no. It was midnight. Their feet were fastened in stocks. Their backs were bloody and raw. And Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs of praise (Acts 16:16–40). That’s a faith that inflates during difficult times.
I look at Paul and Silas; at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and at all the people throughout Scripture who encountered times of intense trouble yet went bigger with their faith, and I marvel. The prophet Habakkuk stated it clearly when he cried out:
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 GNT
The last two lines indicate huge faith. And did you notice the two phrases repeated three times in Habakkuk’s prayer?
Even though . . . I will . . .
Habakkuk basically said, “Even though there’s no harvest, and even though crops fail, and even though the fields are desolate, and even though the stalls of provision are empty, I will still be joyful and glad because the Lord God is my Savior. I have not
lost my faith. In fact, my faith is even greater. I’m still going to rejoice in the Lord. I’m still going to worship God. I’m not going to get sidetracked by attitudes or actions that harm me. When I encounter hard times, my faith inflates.”
Those two phrases lay out a powerful cause-and-effect relationship as an example for us to follow. Even though bad things happen, I will still praise the Lord. Even though bad things happen, I will not let my mind be lost to the Enemy.
That’s the kind of faith I see in Jay and Katherine Wolf. As I wrote this chapter, they received word that new tests were needed to clarify a previously undetected set of neurological challenges. Depending on the results of those tests, they could be facing more challenging headwinds. They asked Shelley and me to pray for them before the scans were performed. When we finished praying, Katherine prayed for us about a storm that Shelley and I were navigating. In Katherine’s prayer, she quoted Habakkuk 3:17–18. We said our amens, and I told her I was just about to write those exact verses.
She said, “I love the last verse: ‘God the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights!’ I clung to those words when I was learning to walk again” (v. 19 BSB). Back in 2009, having received less-than-optimistic diagnoses from doctors, she personalized the passage for her situation:
Though I cannot walk,
And I am confined to a wheelchair;
Though half my face is paralyzed,
And I cannot even smile;
Though I am extremely impaired,
And I cannot take care of my baby;
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior!
This is not the faith of a Christian who believes in God only when the sun shines. This is not a faith that wilts under pressure. This faith flourishes even though the pressure is on. This faith says, Even though bad things are happening, I will praise the Lord. How might you personalize Habakkuk’s prayer?
Even though I am under intense financial pressure . . .
Even though my spouse is with another person right now . . .
Even though we are in a global crisis . . .
Even though . . .
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be joyful in God my Savior!
Developing this kind of “even though / I will” faith changes the temperature and trajectory of your life. When the pressure mounts, this kind of faith doesn’t deflate. Instead, it actually inflates. It becomes bolder. More resolute and undaunted. More robust.
The development of an “even though” kind of faith has a lot to do with where we position our focus. We can develop this kind of faith, in Jesus’ name, and the development of this faith is the foundational principle behind not giving the Enemy a seat at our table. To do that, we need to root our thinking in a well-known but widely untapped biblical promise.
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Scripture References
