Find Your Table
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." -Psalm 23:5
In the last few months I have seen a lot of loss and heartbreak. And on top of it, fighting a battle with my immune system hasn't made it any easier. When your enemy is "the unknown" the worst outcomes seem closer to reality than anything else. (You know you're going through it, when you spend all of your time in the Psalms.) You bargain with God like, "Look, David was going through it too, and you helped him out..." I'm fortunate to not have physical armies hunting me and trying to take my life. But that doesn't devalue the things that seem to threaten our lives today.
Whenever I read Psalm 23, I get this mystical picture of a forest that God is leading me through with green trees all around me and there's this beautiful wooden table tucked away in there with a feast waiting just for me. You can lay down in the grass and look up through the cracks of the tree tops to see the cool, blue sky. A quiet stream flowing, talking with God. It's about peace and stillness with God right?
There are two phrases though, that re-frame this chapter for me:
"...in the presence of my enemies..." vs. 5
and
"...though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." vs. 4
There is a hunt happening here. You have stepped into these woods of unknown and your enemy is chasing you. It is easy to see the enemy because it's often the thing we can't stop thinking about. Whether you get a bad doctor's report, have financial struggles or are in a difficult relationship with friends or family. Those things are chasing you into these woods of the unknown. They are still the same beautiful woods as before but since your enemy is chasing you into this valley, it's hard to stop and enjoy the view.
What I have had to keep reminding myself lately is that there is ALWAYS a table. If your enemy is present, that means God is also. He's prepared a table for you in the exact situation you are in. On the table He has His goodness, mercy, grace, blessing, favor, love, power and promises waiting for you. Whatever your enemy is doing to get you to keep running lost and scare through the woods, find your table. The second you take your eyes off of the chase and onto the table, your enemy is powerless.
FIND YOUR TABLE!