Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
When reading through this Psalm, this verse often gets
passed over quickly in the recitation, but it contains an incredibly profound
concept. The idea of sitting down to eat a meal with Jesus while my enemies
look on is mind-boggling! Wouldn’t time have to be suspended for that to happen?
Especially for David because you will notice that he mentions his enemies in
every chapter he wrote except the last two. He knew what it was to have enemies
and at no time did he sit down to a meal without being aware of them and where
they were in relation to him.
But David also knew what it was like to have God protect him
from the arrows, the words and any other manner of weapons that were meant to
harm him. He gave all praise to his protector, God, in Psalm 7:15, “I couldn’t begin to count the times you’ve
been there for me.” (The Passion translation) Through all the
disappointments, betrayals, running and dodging, David did not succumb to the
evil that was tenaciously determined to destroy him. He knew the who he
could turn to for help.
We also are in a very real spiritual battle—against evil and
its initiator, satan (sic). The attacks launched against us subtly invade our
minds, violently batter our emotions and never stop blitzing our spirits. Surrounding
us with hostile lies and menacing deception, with full-blown emotional damage
and violent suffering, and with debilitating physical disease and oppression,
satan sets out to “deceive, kill and destroy us” with a passion. His
business is to take out as many people as he can before they come to fully understand and
accept God’s extraordinarily loving grace. His next goal is to defeat as many
Christians as possible with clever confusion and guided misunderstanding of
that grace. When faced with satan’s ploys, we must know what God’s
grace provides for us!
I am overwhelmed by the immensity of God’s provision! So,
this is my interpretation of verse 5: God
calls us out of our world, where our enemies are banging on our door and
throwing rocks at our house, to commune with Him and receive sustenance that nourishes
us physically, emotionally and spiritually. After the meal, He arranges for the
Holy Spirit to accompany us providing wisdom and guidance from God for moment-to-moment
instances in our daily lives. Then, He empties His dump-truck-load of favor and
blessings into our coffee-mug-sized hearts until we can’t endure any more.
God is calling us out—to come to Him. Really!? Yes! Kinda
amazing, huh? When we get that one-on-one time of connection with God, we could
get some strategic advice for the war; we could get clarity of mind for a
critical problem or healing for our gaping emotional wounds. Wouldn’t that help
us a lot in our daily battles? God desires to and will provide those benefits
for us when we are “at table” with Him--in spite of what is going around us. Some
people call that connection a “Quiet Time” or a “time of prayer and devotions.”
Will He find you looking for Him? Don’t try to walk through the
battles of Life alone when you have Almighty God offering to be your tank!
Ladying for today: My
God is calling me out of the world because He has so much to give me—time, the
Holy Spirit and blessings galore—so I will passionately seek Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
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