| Psalm 23:5 – 05 July 2018 |
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
NKJV
It may have been a challenging season for many of us, but God has been with us, and He is assuring us of His continued presence and strength as we step into the second half of this year. Psalm 23 is a beautiful depiction of our life in Jesus, the ultimate good Shepherd, and His unfailing care for us, in the face of multiple situations that arise in this world we are traveling through. When David was a fugitive in the desert, fleeing from his enemies, he experienced the protection and power of the Lord. He repeatedly saw the mighty hand of God covering him and blessing him in the face of those who wanted him destroyed. Perhaps you have been crying out to the Lord for relief and peace in your life, and you may have asked him to make your enemies disappear so that you can begin to enjoy life. However, the Lord wants you to know that you are meant to start enjoying your life right now. He has a laden “table” waiting for you, even while your enemies are still in the picture! They will see the goodness of the Lord upon your life and cringe! You are not meant to postpone for some distant future time the joy which is already yours in Jesus. God is calling you to rejoice and give thanks, and to celebrate now.
The “table” represents many things. It represents fellowship, covenant, intimacy and connection with God. Covenant and relationship are established and deepened through the sharing of food. Sharing a table with Jesus is our privilege and delight, to come to Him and sup with Him on a daily basis, eating of the Word and drinking of His presence. He is the bread of Life! Each time we take communion, we receive deeper of Him, we become more like Him! The table also represents God’s provision in every area of need, whatever that need may be. God wants us to know that every need has already been provided for by the Shepherd. He has been preparing a table for us, tailor made solutions specific to our needs, right before our eyes. It could be that some of us have been focusing so much on what the enemy is doing, and the people he is using to hurt or distract us, and we therefore have not observed the table the Lord has been preparing for us right before our eyes! Heaven has been manifesting all around us and we have not seen the signs because we were focusing on the situation rather than the goodness of God!
Dear friend, you were meant to drink from a cup that runs over. This means that you were never meant to live with any kind of lack. In fact, the table He has prepared holds an excess of everything your heart desires for your body, spirit and soul. God’s “exceedingly abundantlies” are for you, His very precious child, and as you turn your gaze back to Him, you begin to see the artistically prepared, abundantly supplied table, with crisp white linen and fine china, and your name embroidered into the napkins. There is no lack of supply, hallelujah! The table looks different for each of us because it is custom made to meet each one’s need. I encourage you to take a moment to close your eyes and see the table God has prepared for you, laden with the answers to every need you have. There are gift wrapped packages beside the plates, and they contain the heavenly deposits you need for your life, for your physical needs, in your relationships, in your work life, in your hunger for more of the things of God. He is supplying each area according to His unending riches in Glory, because of your covenant through the blood of Jesus (Phil 4:19). Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! No more will you see your cup half empty or half full. When you see the overflowing cup of the Lord for you, you cannot help but give Him thanks and praise!
As though this was not enough for us to rejoice and be jubilant about, the psalmist says “You anoint my head with oil.”. We tend to think that challenging seasons make us weaker in our faith and in our walk with God, but no! Every time we face a battle with the enemy, it is because the Holy Spirit has already come to our help and set us up to win! Jesus faced the enemy in the wilderness after His forty days and nights of fasting, and He came back with a new anointing and in the power of the Holy Spirit. In times of adversity, we tend to press in deeper, and to cling to God that much harder. And when we seek Him, He takes us deeper, and promotes us to higher ground. He takes us into deeper levels of revelation and intimacy with the Holy Spirit. He anoints our heads with beautiful, heavenly Holy Spirit oil!
Know that God is for you and with you through every moment of every day and night. His love is strong and sure and never fails. He has created breakthrough solutions for you which you could have never thought up for yourself. “My precious child, I have a perfect table already prepared for you in the presence of your enemies, so pull up a chair, pick up your cup, and and watch it overflow. I am dining with you there. It is time to freely sup!”
